The trap jaw ant (Odontomachus haematodus), originally from South America, was first recorded in Alabama 50 years ago. Although this ant is known to be aggressive and invasive, it was thought that the species hadn t spread much. However, new surveys show that trap jaw ants have been on the move in recent years and have now spread across the Gulf Coast states. Trap jaw ants have wide jaws that snap shut (hence the name trap jaw ) with such incredible force and speed that it can stun their prey. Their bite is among the fastest known movements in the animal kingdom, with a speed of up to 143 mph. When threatened, trap-jaw ants fire their jaws at the ground, which pushes the ant upward with such force that it hurls them up like popcorn out of a frying pan. These ants also have a stinger that is capable of inflicting a painful sting. They are likely to become an increasingly common pest in the future.
FIRE ANTS BUILD RAFTS Red fire ants have an amazing ability to survive floods. As waters rise, the ants stream from their nests, start gripping onto ants beside them, and form living ant rafts that float and carry them to safety. This is an extraordinary engineering feat, considering each ant is denser than water and would normally sink. New research this year, using a CT scan, has given us a closer look at how they do this. Each ant connects to another ant between 8 and 20 times—all six legs connect to another ant, and each ant is contacted many times by neighbor ants. Besides connecting to neighbor ants, each ant actually pushes other ants away, which introduces air pockets between their bodies. By doing this, the mass of heavy ants easily floats downstream or to the nearest solid ground.