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Freaky Facts and Features of Creepy Crawly Creatures of the Rainforest |
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Army Ant |
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Description Most species of army ants travel across the land in narrow columns. Army ants live in huge colonies and, unlike other ants, do not build permanent nests. Instead, they are nomadic, moving into different areas of the forest during "raids," killing, dismembering, and bringing to their temporary homes any animals that couldn't escape them. Most army ant colonies have from 10,000 to several million members. |
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Some kinds of army ants hunt for a few weeks and then rest for a few weeks. During the hunting periods, they may nest at a different site every night When they rest, they cling together in a large cluster. They may hang from a tree branch or lie inside a hollow log. There are several different groups of army ants in a colony, headed by a single, large, fertile female, the queen. She has no wings and produces vast quantities of eggs, which are cared for by other members of the colony. Every 30-40 days or so, the colony gathers in a large swarm. The queen then lays up to as many as 30,000 or more eggs in two days. |
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Army ants are fierce hunters. The many ants working together as a coordinated army function as a kind of forest "super-predator." They mainly hunt on the forest floor, killing other insects, small lizards, and small mammals, but they will also climb trees, killing tree insects, baby birds in their nests, etc. Because the ants move relatively slowly, most large or fast-moving animals are able to escape them. |
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The majority of the 80,000 or so army ants in an average-sized colony are sterile females. These ants are generally either workers or soldiers. Soldiers are about twice the size of workers, with enlarged heads and jaws. Male army ants are few in number and have wings; they periodically leave the colony to search for other queens. |
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