Ants Staging Ambushes
From Nature via BoingBoing:
Using a home-made trap, a tiny species of ant is capable of ensnaring prey much larger than itself and tearing it to pieces.
The ants (Allomerus decemarticulatus), which live in Amazonian plants called Hirtella physophora, construct a honeycomb-like structure out of their host plant’s fibres from which they can stage an ambush.
The worker ants hide in the holes of this death trap with their mouths open wide, waiting for locusts, butterflies or other insects to land. When prey arrives they quickly seize its extremities, pulling on legs, arms and antennae until the hostage is rendered immobile. Once trapped, other ants from the colony arrive to sting and bite the prey until it is paralyzed.
Israel Torres • April 26, 2005 12:09 PM
Man often mimics nature to survive.
Israel Torres