(ISNS) -- Watch a trail of ants march off bearing morsels of food
, and you might think the insects are experts at gathering prey. But sometimes the makeup of a food can confound a particular species of supersized ants, new research shows.
, and you might think the insects are experts at gathering prey. But sometimes the makeup of a food can confound a particular species of supersized ants, new research shows.
Bullet ants – giant tropical ants named for the strength of their sting – forage for nectar and insects in the canopy of Costa Rican rainforests. When they encounter drops of a solution that's both sugary and protein-rich, they have trouble deciding whether to sip or chomp. If a liquid has high protein content, the insects grab and try to eat it as though it's solid prey. As anyone who has ever tried to eat a quickly-melting ice cream cone can imagine, the ants' attempts to bite into liquids usually fail.
ants named for the strength of their sting – forage for nectar and insects in the canopy of Costa Rican rainforests. When they encounter drops of a solution that's both sugary and protein-rich, they have trouble deciding whether to sip or chomp. If a liquid has high protein content, the insects grab and try to eat it as though it's solid prey. As anyone who has ever tried to eat a quickly-melting ice cream cone can imagine, the ants' attempts to bite into liquids usually fail.
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