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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing driver ants. Driver ants are a type of army ant. They move in swarms that feast on other animals in their path. Their common name, driver, comes from their act of “driving” all the animals in their path away from them, unless they're captured and brought into the colony as food. Driver ants are also known as safari ants and siafu ants – both names that come from where they live. These arthropods live throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, and some species range in Southeast Asia. There are approximately 60 described driver ants species, however their classification is in flux as more information is learned about them!

Most driver ants build their nests underground. This is true of many ant species, however, instead of remaining in the same place for the colony's entire life, driver ants move house every few days to months. These moves are often precipitated by an attack from a predator. Although these ants are highly combative, and capable of taking down large prey, including humans if given the opportunity, it takes a special set of circumstances for this to happen. A large animal would need to be completely immobilized to be eaten by driver ants. Those that can still move have developed methods for eating this rich food source. Gorillas, aardvarks, pangolins, mongooses, and more all take driver ants as prey. Chimpanzees have even developed a method of tool use for acquiring these animals by sticking a branch into the nest and quickly slurping them off once enough have been collected.

In turn, driver ants are formidable foes. They drive away anything in their path, leaving a wasteland of fauna behind them. During their swarming, they'll eat anything that doesn't move, or doesn't move fast enough. They commonly consume earthworms and other invertebrates, including termites who they'll purposefully target. When targeting a termite colony, driver ants will make sure to leave enough of their meal behind so the termite colony can be rebuilt and raided at a later date. Driver ants also eat small reptiles and mammals that aren't fast enough to get out of their way.

Fascinatingly, some animals have figured out ways to disguise themselves and move among the workers of a driver ants colony. Some isopods and beetles sneak in and dine on the food brought back to the nest. There are also snake species that can slither in and consume some of the brood while moving undetected. It's likely a chemical pheromone that allows these outsiders to enter the colony, but the phenomenon is still not fully understood! What's more, birds will follow the driver ant swarm and snatch up any animals startled by the commotion. They'll even sometimes steal meals right out the ant's mandibles.

Driver ants are the largest living ants on Earth. Technically, not all driver ants are massive, but their queens absolutely are. Maxing out at 2 inches (5 cm) long, these large ladies top the ant size chart. Plus, the workers are not all built the same. Some driver ant workers act as soldiers for the colony. These individuals have massive, square heads with no eyes and large mandibles for biting hard. In fact, driver ants don't usually sting when on the offensive, they most often just bite! Of course, they can still sting if necessary, so they're a force to be reckoned with from both ends.

Although driver ants build their nests underground, they do their swarming above it. These ants prefer shaded areas such as forests, and tend to avoid hot, sunny places. When they move, they look like streams of dark water flowing across the ground. They don't move fast, however, only advancing about 65 feet (20 m) every hour.

Not only are driver ant queens the largest ants alive, they also produce the most eggs of any living insect. In a single month, a driver ant queen can produce upwards of 4 million eggs. Over the course of her lifetime she may have billions of babies. These babies form driver ant colonies, which are some of the largest ant colonies in the world. Upwards of 20 million ants may live in a single driver ant colony.

When the colony reaches an appropriate size, which largely depends on the species, a driver ant queen will produce special eggs. These eggs will hatch both new queens and winged males. Unlike many other ant species, driver ant queens do not have wings. They don't participate in a nuptial flight: instead, they wait for males from other colonies to come to them. To reach the heights of billions of babies, driver ant queens mate with multiple partners, storing sperm in their body their entire life. After landing, a male's wings are removed, he's brought to the queen, they mate, and he dies shortly after. When a new queen has mated with enough males, the original queen splits the colony and takes some with her, leaving the rest behind to help her daughter start a new colony.

It's unknown how long driver ants live. They can't be kept in a lab due to their nomadic nature. Even if a queen dies, however, the colony is often able to fuse with a neighboring colony and live on under a new queen.

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