@down_the_ant_hill: Ants Create CIAs to Defend Against Fire Ants! #mieren #ameisen #ant #ants #antsofinstagram #hormigas #fourmi #fourmis #naturephotography #naturelover #macroinsect #insects_macro #bugs #insect #queenant #insectsofinstagram #fauna #myrmecology #entomology #Formicidae #antsofcanada #downtheanthill #canadianantshop #canadaantcolony #Solenopsis #geminata #fireants #CIA #counterintelligence #antwars #educational #science Script: There's a good chance that what you're seeing here is one ant colony executing the scout of another. Basically, you're watching ant CIA. Because that ant in the middle is probably a Tropical Fire Ant worker, Solenopsis geminata. If you're literally anything else, fire ant scouts are bad news. They collect Intel for fire ant armies, and that's about a quarter million enemies you'd rather not show up at your door. So a lot of ants have counterintelligence, especially against fire ants. They can't let scouts who've found their colony report back to HQ. So worker patrols will each grab a leg to make sure the scout can't escape. That ant at the back? She's either finding a body part to grab onto, or is going to execute her by spraying acid into any wounds the scout got during combat. And the idea is that, even if those probably black crazy ants can't beat the fire ants in a fight head on, they can protect themselves, by basically blind the colony's eyes and ears.

Down The Ant Hill

Open In TikTok:

Region: CA

Monday 30 September 2024 21:47:15 GMT