HMC Bee Lab: How Ants Manage to Survive My Accidental Murderous Hands

Throughout my time at the HMC Bee Lab I have killed my fair share of ants. In fact, I’d be willing to say that I’ve accidentally killed more ants than most other lab members. It’s one of my many talents. Jokes aside, ants at the Bee Lab have a tough time. They are constantly knocked out on cold plates to be immobilized, held together in relatively small boxes, and become stuck on the stickiest of surfaces. In addition, they are also dropped from high elevations - at least from an ant’s point of view - in order to be ushered back into certain boxes or simply on accident. Initially I thought that this would lead to certain death. However to my surprise, the ants survived and didn’t even seem dazed by the drop. Had these ants finally found a way to avoid my killing sprees?

Since we are experimenting with turtle ants (Cephalotes varians) - which nest in trees - I thought there had to be some behavior that explained this strange ability. Being fascinated by evolution, I also wondered if this was some sort of adaptation that turtle ants had developed over millions of years in order to ensure survival. It turns out that all turtle ants are able to “glide.” More specifically, this behavior is known as directed aerial descent. This is advantageous as this allows these ants to avoid predation or potentially reach resources that might have been out of reach. The trajectory of this flight can best be described as j-shaped. During the first stage of the “flight,” the ants are practically in free fall. After locating its intended destination, the ant will then make a rapid change by shifting its abdomen towards the desired location. It also seems that an ant’s hind legs are crucial during flight. They are used to quickly change trajectory and are important for landing.

Trajectory of Gliding Ants [1]

You can even see it for yourself here!

Gliding Ants in Real Life! [2]

This perfectly explains why every time I managed to drop ants, they were able to survive. Through the use of directed aerial descent, these ants were able to pinpoint a secure location, steer using their hind legs and abdomen, and finally land using their hind legs as well. It also seems as if directed aerial descent could serve as an explanation as to how insects developed the evolutionary ability to fly. Gliding may be the behavior that links ground-based and aerial insects.

As for the ants’ ability to land unfazed, it seems as if their small mass and body structure play a big role in this phenomena. Simply put, because they are so small, turtle ants have a very small terminal velocity - at least compared to humans. This allows them to hit the ground slower and thus survive. Their unique body structure also allows them to take blows without serious repercussions. Their skeleton consist of eight layers: the outer layer - chitin - acts as their “armor.” These insects are also able to combat clotting problems - which could arise from the impact of hitting the ground - very efficiently due to their unique blood, and the fact that the nervous system is spread through the entire body allows for blows to be taken with ease. It must be nice being an ant - you can fall heights that are 50 times bigger than you and remain unharmed. Me? I stub my toe and lose the ability to walk.

So, I guess ants have been able to thwart my habit of killing them. For now…

Myself and Ants [3]

HMC Bee Lab

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Monday, August 6, 2018

How Ants Manage to Survive My Accidental Murderous Hands

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