Gliding ant
Encyclopedia
Gliding ants are arboreal ant
s of several different genera
that are able to control the direction of their descent when falling from a tree. Living in the rainforest canopy like many other gliders, gliding ants use their gliding to return to the trunk of the tree they live on should they fall or be knocked off a branch. Gliding was first discovered for Cephalotes atreus in the Peruvian rainforest.
At least five genera in the subfamilies
Myrmicinae
, Pseudomyrmecinae
, and Formicinae
display gliding of various degrees. All species in the genus Cephalotes
(within Myrmicanae) tested to date show this ability, as do many species within Pseudomyrmecinae.
Gliding ants have been shown to have an 85%" chance of landing successfully on the same tree, as opposed to 5% if they were simply parachuting
like normal ants. This adaptation helps to keep ants from getting lost or killed on the forest floor, away from their treetop nests.
During a fall, gliding ants use visual cues to locate tree trunks. Specifically, they orient to light-colored columnar objects that sharply contrast the darker background of foliage in the forest. Tropical trees often have light-colored bark and frequently are covered with white lichens, thus they provide the most conspicuous targets.
In a typical fall a descent by a gliding ant is "J-shaped". The ant will first randomly descend three or four meters in free fall
then visually lock on to the tree trunk it wishes to land on. The glide ant then while exhibiting a sort of parachuting behavior to slow its fall uses its flatten head, hind legs and abdomen like wings or a parachute to make a rapid adjustment to point its abdomen
(or head
) towards the tree trunk. The ant then turns upside down and lands on the trunk, head facing the earth. The period of free fall is thought to be used by the ants to slow down to a minimum viable glide velocity, to allow them to successfully direct their descent towards the tree. This explains why smaller ants have been observed to reach their trees sooner than do larger. A smaller body mass makes it easier to slow to the minimum viable glide velocity, allowing smaller ants to gain control of their falls more quickly. Many ants use long, flattened legs and wide, flanged heads to act as parachutes to control the direction of their descent, although controlled descent has also been observed in species of Pseudomyrmecinae that have more cylindrical bodies.
Gliding is not observed in all arboreal ants. Some characteristics that may be evolutionarily correlated with gliding are:
This kind of gliding has evolved independently in a number of species from the groups Cephalotini
, Pseudomyrmecinae, and Formicinae (mostly Camponotus) in an example of parallel evolution
. Unique among gliding animals, Cephalotini and Pseudomyrmecinae ants glide abdomen first. Forminicae ants glide in the more conventional head first manner, though.
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s of several different genera
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
that are able to control the direction of their descent when falling from a tree. Living in the rainforest canopy like many other gliders, gliding ants use their gliding to return to the trunk of the tree they live on should they fall or be knocked off a branch. Gliding was first discovered for Cephalotes atreus in the Peruvian rainforest.
At least five genera in the subfamilies
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants. There are about 140 genera within the group, with the family being cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes...
, Pseudomyrmecinae
Pseudomyrmecinae
The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae is a small group, containing only three genera of generally slender, wasp-like forms that forage solitarily and sting readily.-External links:* on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site...
, and Formicinae
Formicinae
Formicinae is a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.Formicines retain some primitive features such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and little tendency toward reduction of palp or antennal segmentation in...
display gliding of various degrees. All species in the genus Cephalotes
Cephalotes
Cephalotes is a Neotropical genus of ant species, all sharing the same odd head style, which tend to be mainly arboreal, and all appear to be gliding ants, with the ability to "parachute" and steer their fall so as to land back on the tree trunk rather than fall to the ground, which is often...
(within Myrmicanae) tested to date show this ability, as do many species within Pseudomyrmecinae.
Gliding ants have been shown to have an 85%" chance of landing successfully on the same tree, as opposed to 5% if they were simply parachuting
Parachuting
Parachuting, also known as skydiving, is the action of exiting an aircraft and returning to earth with the aid of a parachute. It may or may not involve a certain amount of free-fall, a time during which the parachute has not been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal...
like normal ants. This adaptation helps to keep ants from getting lost or killed on the forest floor, away from their treetop nests.
During a fall, gliding ants use visual cues to locate tree trunks. Specifically, they orient to light-colored columnar objects that sharply contrast the darker background of foliage in the forest. Tropical trees often have light-colored bark and frequently are covered with white lichens, thus they provide the most conspicuous targets.
In a typical fall a descent by a gliding ant is "J-shaped". The ant will first randomly descend three or four meters in free fall
Free fall
Free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it, at least initially. These conditions produce an inertial trajectory so long as gravity remains the only force. Since this definition does not specify velocity, it also applies to objects initially moving upward...
then visually lock on to the tree trunk it wishes to land on. The glide ant then while exhibiting a sort of parachuting behavior to slow its fall uses its flatten head, hind legs and abdomen like wings or a parachute to make a rapid adjustment to point its abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
(or head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
) towards the tree trunk. The ant then turns upside down and lands on the trunk, head facing the earth. The period of free fall is thought to be used by the ants to slow down to a minimum viable glide velocity, to allow them to successfully direct their descent towards the tree. This explains why smaller ants have been observed to reach their trees sooner than do larger. A smaller body mass makes it easier to slow to the minimum viable glide velocity, allowing smaller ants to gain control of their falls more quickly. Many ants use long, flattened legs and wide, flanged heads to act as parachutes to control the direction of their descent, although controlled descent has also been observed in species of Pseudomyrmecinae that have more cylindrical bodies.
Gliding is not observed in all arboreal ants. Some characteristics that may be evolutionarily correlated with gliding are:
- Arboreal nesting
- Frequent foraging at branch tips
- Heavily armored individuals
- Wide range of abdominal movement
- Good vision
- Diurnal activity
- Evolutionary origins in flooded forests
This kind of gliding has evolved independently in a number of species from the groups Cephalotini
Cephalotini
Cephalotini is a tribe of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Although they are wingless, biologists have observed them gliding. They will glide back to the trunk of their tree, which is much safer than the ground or water below. They are among a number of groups of gliding ants. They feed mainly on...
, Pseudomyrmecinae, and Formicinae (mostly Camponotus) in an example of parallel evolution
Parallel evolution
Parallel evolution is the development of a similar trait in related, but distinct, species descending from the same ancestor, but from different clades.-Parallel vs...
. Unique among gliding animals, Cephalotini and Pseudomyrmecinae ants glide abdomen first. Forminicae ants glide in the more conventional head first manner, though.