The speedy mandibles of Strumigenys ants developed repeatedly throughout the world, explaining how evolution creates new abilities to help a species survive. Ants gather on a dewy peony bud. (Image ...

Trap-jaw ants snap their mandibles shut with one of the fastest movements in the animal world. Using a spring-loaded mechanism, they can bring their jaws together at up to 60m/s. That's fast enough to ...

It's not much to look at in the beginning. This is the first larval phase of a trap-jaw ant emerging from its egg. New research published in the journal Myrmecology News finds that trap-jaw ants ...

March 2 (UPI) --How did the trap-jaw ant evolve such a complex mechanism for snatching its prey? Today, the mandibles of trap-jaw ants take many forms, suggesting a tremendous level of anatomical ...

Few potential victims stand a chance against the formidable mandibles of a trap-jaw ant. In conflicts between predators and prey, speed is a decided advantage, and evolution has given these insects an ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Recently, researchers uncovered the adaptations that enable this superfast snapping in an elusive ...

Below the tangle of vines and branches of the East Malaysian rainforest, a small contingent of ants scuttles frenetically along the shaded leaf litter. But these are no mere picnic pests—these are ...

video: The animation shows the changes in form as the trap-jaw mechanism becomes more divergent from the ancestral form. The jaws (yellow) develop small projections that can latch onto the labrum ...

Few victims stand a chance against the formidable mandibles of a trap-jaw ant. In conflicts between predators and prey, speed is a decided advantage, and evolution has given these insects an edge with ...

Dec. 12 (UPI) --The record for fastest appendage belongs to the dracula ant, Mystrium camilla, and its snap-jaw. Scientists clocked the speed of its mandibles at 200 miles per hours. The dracula ant's ...

Move over, trap-jaw ants and mantis shrimp: There's a faster appendage in town. According to a new study, the Dracula ant, Mystrium camillae, can snap its mandibles at speeds of up to 90 meters per ...

Smithsonian fellow uses 3-D X-ray imaging and high-speed cameras to unravel the anatomy of these unusual ant chops Few potential victims stand a chance against the formidable mandibles of a trap-jaw ...