Insects
Swarming Army Ants In Africa…You Might Want To Cancel That Picnic If These Guys Are Around
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As of right now, there are nearly 1000 species of ants in the United States. While this may seem like a huge number, there are other countries such as Australia and Indonesia that host significantly more species of ants. Generally, the colder the climate, the fewer species of ants to be found.
Fire ants are becoming more and more of a problem in the warmer parts of the United States. If this is something that bums you out, then maybe we can offer you a little bit of perspective. At least you don’t have to worry about an infestation of driver ants.
Driver ants are much worse than fire ants. In fact, driver ants are one of the deadliest species on the planet. Oh, and they’re very very mean. Here are some reasons to be happy that you have fire ants instead of driver ants.
Driver ants belong to a larger genus of ant known as “Army Ants”. These ants are notorious for being nomadic, in that they will travel from place to place. They set up temporary colonies for anywhere from a few days to a few months, until their food supply in the area is depleted. Then they move on.When they are migrating between colonies, driver ants travel in a massive line. Their colonies are huge in size (more on that next). They form a column with attack ants posted as sentries on either side so that the worker ants can run through in the middle. These ants are pretty smart.
Colonies of driver ants are HUGE! Driver ant colonies are actually the biggest ant colonies in the world. They can number up to 22 million at a time. So, just imagine seeing 22 million, migrating ants on the jungle floor, all marching in a giant column. Yeah, that’s scary.
What makes driver ants much scarier than fire ants is that driver ants are carnivores. Their main food source are earthworms that they come across in their journeys. Driver ants have also been known to attack and consume any animal that isn’t smart or fast enough to get out of their way. If these guys are around, you might want to cancel your plans for that family picnic, because these guys will eat everything you have…and THEN some !!
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