ARE ANTS AWESOME?

ONLY TWO SPECIES ON EARTH HAVE EVER

DOMESTICATED OTHER SPECIES…HUMANS AND ANTS

THERE ARE 14 SPECIES OF ANTS THAT ARE KNOWN

TO ENSLAVE OR USE OTHER SPECIES OF ANTS

LEAF CUTTER ANTS DON'T ACTUALLY CUT LEAVES.

THEY GIVE THE LEAVES TO FUNGI IN THEIR NEST

AND THEN FEED OFF OF WHAT THE FUNGI SECRETE

CROWS CRUSH ANTS AND RUB THE ANT'S GUTS

ALL OVER THEMSELVES. APPARENTLY ANT GUTS

PROTECT AGAINST PARASITES

MALE ANTS DON'T HAVE FATHERS BUT FEMALES DO.

THIS IS BECAUSE UNFERTILIZED EGGS BECOME MALE,

WHILE FERTILIZED EGGS BECOME FEMALE

PHENGARIS REBELI IS A BUTTERFLY WHOSE

LARVAE PRETEND TO BE ANT LARVAE SO THAT

WORKER ANTS WILL FEED THEM. THE LARVAE

THEN ASCEND THE "ANT RANKS" BY MIMICKING

THE SOUND THAT THE QUEEN ANT WOULD MAKE

OFTENTIMES WHEN THE REAL QUEEN ANTS ATTACK

THE BUTTERFLY LARVAE, THE CONFUSED WORKER

ANTS WILL DEFEND THE LARVAE AND KILL

THEIR OWN QUEEN

WHEN JOAN MURRAY'S PARACHUTE FAILED WHILE

SHE WAS SKYDIVING SHE CRASHED INTO AN

ANTHILL GOING 130 KM PER HOUR. DOCTORS THINK

THAT BEING STUNG BY ANTS HUNDREDS OF

TIMES ACTUALLY KEPT HER HEART BEATING

DUE TO AN IMMENSE SURGE OF ADRENALINE