Bulldog Ant

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Welcome to the next installment of Shit That Can Kill You Fridays!
This week features the Bulldog Ant.

Yes. Ants. Because one of you left crumbs everywhere, and that's how you get ants! But these are not just any ants, oh no. These insect soldiers are YUGE! They grow up to 1.5 inches. 1.5 INCHES. ITS AN ANT. They have large mandibles and of course a singer loaded with venom in their abdomen. Oh yes, venom. Its a classic cocktail that causes anaphylactic shock in its prey and even in humans. And before you even ask, yes, these ants can kill you. Part of the injection is formic acid, which makes the sting intensely painful. So you don't want to run into an army of Bulldog Ants? Simple. Just follow rule number 1 of STCKYF and never EVER go to Australia.

The Bulldog Ant only lives for 8-10 weeks which is far more time than I would like to spend in Australia. If a male Bulldog Ant does not die from combat, being stepped on, or other ant things, they die after they mate with the queen. So at least they get to go out on a high note. After mating the queen flies off to build a new anthill. In some species of Bulldog Ant, the queen takes over the preexisting nest of another species of ant after killing its queen. She a savage for that.

Every member of the colony acts as an individual, which includes the queen. That is not to say that they cannot work as a team, they just don't have to which is extraordinary for ants. This is due to the fact that the Bulldog Ant can communicate through touch and smell rather than just pheromones. The queen even has to find her own food... which is nails if I had to guess. But when nails aren't available they have to settle for plants, fungi, seeds, and other insects. When hunting other insects the Bulldog Ant is smart. It will sneak up on its prey from behind, hold it down with its large mandibles and stab it with its stinger several times. Brutal.

And with all that killing ability, what do they do? Build empires? Conquer Poland? Nope. Grooming. The Bulldog Ant is seriously narcissistic. It loves to be good looking. Science has noted that they spend a large percentage of their time cleaning their antennae and legs. Though I can't really blame it. If you're really good at something, how will people know unless you look good doing it?

Science has been studying these guys for a very specific reason. They secrete a chemical that kills pollen. Science is hoping that this chemical might be able to be used to cure human diseases. As a known enemy of pollen, I could get behind a Bulldog Ant based cure. Just as long as they leave the ants themselves in Australia.

Stay safe out there. 
 

-- 
Charles R Mercer
Amateur Insectologist