Army Ants: Natures most powerful Insect

Army ants are relentless when on the march.
They have no mercy and feel no remorse for destroying everything in their path. Among army ant soldiers they are special scouting units that go out looking for food.Army ants have amazing digestive system which can dissolve almost any living creature, including humans.

Army ants have two different phases of activity, the Nomadic phase and the Stationary phase. A carpet of army ants can be as large as 20 meters wide. As destructive as they seem, they are an important part of their natural environment as they help to keep other insects populations under control. If viewed from above, the ants would look much like a tree, with the ant spreading on from the main group like branches.
This is called a bivouac.

They are resourceful and determined when it comes to finding food and will climb trees, invade homes and even build bridges to get to a food source.

Most army ants colonies live in South and Central America.
Army ants soldiers attack in extremely large groups, covering their prey completely as they begin to cut the flesh into tiny pieces.Workers army ants are usually prohibited from reproducing.Army ant queen can lay up to 120,000 eggs.Army ants usually have brown color, though some army ants are also black.Army ants diet usually includes other insects, smaller snakes and small animals such as baby birds.Army Ants have a lifespan of 3 to 13 months.

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When army ant queen dies colonies quickly disappear, and while some ants are being attacked by other colonies the other luckier ones (usually the workers) are being accepted in other colonies.

However, genetic evidence found in 2003 show that they came from one common ancestor that lived 100 million years ago.

New world Army ants mostly come from the Ecioninae sub-family, while Old world Army ants come from Aenictini and Dorylini sub-families. The other hunting technique is called a swarm attack. The Nomadic phase is when the ants hunt for their prey. The term “Army ant” is actually applied to 200 different ant species. Army ants can march around 65 feet in an hour.
One is called the Column raid. The majority of them eat other insects, large spiders, small mammals, reptiles, birds and their eggs, larvae of other insects and some even eats seeds. During a swarm attack, the ant will set a trap for their prey by forming a carpet of themselves on the jungle floor. Instead, they make a living nest with their own bodies. The name “army ants” refers to over 200 ant species characterized by huge numbers of ants foraging simultaneously over a certain area, attacking prey in vast numbers.

They usually move from one place to another.Army ants are usually antagonistic to each other, attacking soldiers from rival colonies in border disputes that keep the army ant colonies separate from each other.The big boss of the army ant colony is the large ant queen who produces the eggs from which all of the colony’s ants are born.

Army ants colonies consists of queen, workers, and soldiers.

Long ago, Scientists believed that these ants evolved independently. They can be found in South America and Africa.

Army ants do not just kill for food, they kill anything in their way. Scavengers will follow the horde, taking advantage of the dead left behind by these aggressive ants.
Army ants
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