Diet and life cycle of bullet ant

Diet and life cycle of bullet  ant

• Bullet Ant Biology

⇏Bullet ants reach about 1 inch in length and are usually dark red to black. They are primarily scavengers and predators, foraging for nectar and hunting invertebrates and, occasionally, small vertebrates. Bullet ants have relatively large stingers and powerful venom. Bullet ants sting their prey before bringing it back to the nest, but they will also use their stingers defensively. The venom of bullet ants is painful for mammals -- bullet ants have the most painful sting of any insect known to science.

• Nests

⇏At maturity, lone queens set out to establish new nests. Most queens usually seek to locate their nests at the bottom of tall trees or vines so workers will be able to reach the canopy conveniently. Sometimes, they construct nests directly in tree hollows. The nests, which sometimes extend more than 2 feet below the surface, have numerous flat-floored chambers with slightly domed ceilings. One nest investigated in 1983 had 43 separate chambers.

• Social Organization

⇏Bullet ants are primitively eusocial; an internal hierarchy exists, but workers are only slightly smaller than the queens. The worker caste exhibits division of labor -- smaller individuals stay inside the nest and tend to the queen and her eggs, while larger individuals forage and defend the nest. Only mature colonies produce winged males and virgin female queens. If their nest is attacked by a predator, the workers will rush to the entrance to defend the colony. Sometimes, bullet ants in mass produce a loud buzzing sound when trying to deter a predator.

• Life Cycle

⇏Queens produce all of the colony’s eggs. Because of the danger involved in working with the animals, little is known about their reproductive habits in the wild. Bullet ants go through complete metamorphosis -- eggs hatch into larvae, which eventually pupate before turning into adults. In captivity, bullet ants will nest in crevices. Though the eggs, larvae and pupae develop normally when kept at uniform temperatures, scientists have observed ants moving large larvae and pupae to the warmest parts of the nest, which speeds their development slightly.

• Habitat

⇏The bullet ant is active all over the forest, from the floor to the treetops. It is usually found on lianas and tree trunks close to the ground.

• Range

⇏This insect lives from Nicaragua down to the Amazon.

• Physical Description

⇏This long, black ant is distinct from other ants in Central America because it is enormous, second only to the Greater Giant Hunting Ant (Dinoponera gigantea). The bullet ant is hairier than fellow hunting ants.

• Biology and Natural History

⇏The colony burrows a nest with different entrances on the ground between tree buttresses. Some arboreal nests have also been discovered. Workers guard the nest against vertebrates and other insects, including other bullet ants. While these ants do live in colonies, individuals search for food alone. Foraging workers hunt insect prey and look for plant sap between dusk and dawn. They may also look for food among the trees during the day if it is cloudy.

The bullet ant has one of the most painful insect stings or bites that you can encounter in central America. Sometimes they fall from higher tree branches and attack when they encounter a large, frightening creature, such as a human. First the bullet ant bites; once the mandibles are securely squeezing the victim, the ant turns its abdomen to sting at the same time. While this may cause some pain and swelling, the venom does not cause sickness or death, and bullet ants are not encountered in droves and swarms like army ants.

• Diet

⇏This hunting ant eats insects, plant exudates, and sap.

• Height/Weight

⇏The bullet ant can reach 2.5 cm long.