Thursday 20 August 2015

The Daisy Chain... of DEATH


Hailing from Cambodia, this undescribed species of ant is a disturbingly effective predator of millipedes. Watch as they encircle their trembling prey, waiting for the poor soul to uncurl itself from its defensive coil. Gaze in astonishment as a single sting from a single ant signals the commencement of a whole bunch of stings from a whole bunch of ants.

Gasp in horror as the merry murderers haul the enormous body home. They do so in a remarkable daisy chain, workers pulling on workers in a deadly caravan of communal carnage. Can't you hear them sing?

Hi ho. Hi ho. It's home from work we go.

It's scenes like this which make you realise that ants don't have to be that much bigger than they are to pose a serious threat to humanity. Shrink rays at the ready...

2 comments:

48andcounting said...

Why does it uncurl itself? Do the ants just simply outweighing the defensive shape because it requires to move/feed...or there's an innate set time for the millipedes to uncurl itself - either way I find that very interesting!

Joseph JG said...

@TexWisGirl: Precisely!

@48andcounting: I think the poor guy needs to get going at some point. He's pretty cautious, so he might not actually know he's surrounded by dangerous ants! He might just be checking to see if the coast is clear. It wasn't