Yesterday I talked a bit about Adetomyrma venatrix, a fascinating ant species best known for its cannibalistic behavior of drinking the blood of its youngs.
Today I have another fascinating ant species but this one doesn't indulge in some weird behavior. It just looks..weird 😂
Just look at this fella
No, this is not an ant with some short of congenital issue. There is a reason it looks like that.
These ants are actually the ant version of Hodor, and they have one simple task. To hold the door. Actually, to be the door.
This is an ant cast that has developed in various species independently, and they are called Door Head Ants.
Naturally, their role is defensive and all they do is keep tunnels and holes shut from invaders, parasites or whatever with their flat,saucer shaped heads.
There is actually a name for this evolutionary trait called phragmosis. Here's a list of ants exhibiting it:
Phragmosis in ants has evolved independently in the diverse ant genera Camponotus Mayr (Hypercolobopsis), Colobopsis Mayr, Cephalotes Latreille, Colobostruma Wheeler (C. leae), Crematogaster Lund (Colobocrema), Pheidole Westwood (P. colobopsis, P. lamia), but also in other genera, such as Blepharidatta Smith, (B. conops), Tetraponera Smith (T. phrag- motica) and Carebara Westwood. source
However, phragmosis doesn't appear only in ants. Spiders, aphids, frogs and other animals have evolved to use their body as a barrier.
Here's a link to Wikipedia with countless examples of phragmosis if you fancy a long read.
I will just mention the one I think is the coolest example of the phenomenon, the Hourglass Spider, scientifically described as Cyclocosmia ricketti.
Just look at this beautiful.... door
Looks like an alien coin if you ask me 😂
Ok friends, this is it for today. See you soon with more weird ants
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How do you find these? Just amazing. I keep looking at that spider.
They find me!
😆
Lol
Nerd
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The antlion is my favorite and sets traps in sand/soil that ants fall into where he waits beneath the surface.
That's one cool fucker too!
Lol. Yes when he kicks the sand up to guarantee the ant can't climb out. We used to use a piece of dried grass to think there was an ant then catch him and they look freaky.
This Ant be like "Hollup let me cook" to homies everytime someone tries to invade !LOL
That spider looks like it has seen the ancient time.
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That is a weird ant. I never thought one would function as a door and it's quite neat. That spider is also quite weird. I would be confused seeing a spider like that.
That is totally ingenious.
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fecking scary....make a coin like that ant...
I am too stupid for that 😂
That spider is no vision upwards what so ever. But it looks ready to shine some shoes.
😄😂
The spider looks like an ancient African shield or something 😂😂
Funky and very weird! Very interesting though!
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These are all weird species and even as weird as they are, they have their functionalities and they're tailored to be able to carry out their functions effectively.
The hour glass spider is really a wonderful sight to behold.
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Looks really alien, drinking the blood of its young is wild. Damn
The universe keeps surprising me with weird creatures, I never knew we have such an ant
You always find such a great and amazing things for us. This one is also very special.
Al I can say is thank God they are so small.
Well that's the first thing I said too so you're not off there :) lol
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