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The weird ant that uses acid to shield itself from enemy venom

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In this odd video from the New Scientist we encounter the tawny crazy ant. This ant successfully takes on the dread fire ant.

How? The invasive fire ants have been doing lots of harm to southern American states since they arrived there in 1930. Their sting is powerful enough to kill small animals and no native ant can stop them.

Until now.

In the last ten years the tawny crazy ant battles the fire ant for food – even invading nests. The trick the tawny crazy ant uses (called crazy because of the way it runs) is to wash itself with its own acid and use that as a shield. After the encounter the tawny crazy ant washes itself clean.

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Fungus transforms ants into zombie slaves

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The BBC have YouTubed a short video from Sir David Attenborough and the Planet Earth TV program that showcases the rather horrid Cordyceps fungi.

Cordyceps fungi prays on live insects and takes control of their body and mind. The video shows one strain of the Cordyceps fungus as it takes over the body and thoughts of an ant, driving the ant up to a lofty position on a plant – a tactical choice – before slowly errupting from the ant’s head.

As the video says fungi like Cordyceps help to keep the balance in nature; stopping one insect from becoming too dominant in the forest.

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