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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing trap jaw ants. Trap jaw ants are also known as leaping ants because they can use their powerful mandibles to propel themselves through the air. There are a number of ant groups that have oversized jaws, but today we’ll be focusing on the genus most commonly known as “the” trap jaw ants. There are approximately 67 species in the genus - though there are likely more to be discovered in the future - and they can be found worldwide in tropical and sub-tropical areas.

Trap jaw ants have mandibles that can open up 180 degrees - so in a straight line. Most ant species have their jaws attached to the sides of the heads, but trap jaw ant mandibles are attached at the front and in the middle of their heads. These are opened wide and can be snapped closed in an instant to catch prey or to fling the ant skyward. Prey to trap jaw ants include other invertebrates though they may also take sweet plant material. When hairs on the inside of the trap jaw ant’s mandibles are triggered, the jaws snap closed around the prey which either stuns or crushes the meal. If that wasn’t enough, a trap jaw ant also comes equipped with a stinger in order to help slow down the prey even further. In humans, these ants could sting, but they’re generally considered nonaggressive unless they’re disturbed. And no, they couldn’t snap off a person’s finger, they’re not strong enough for that - in fact, researchers working with them say the trap jaw ant’s bite doesn’t actually hurt, but the sting is something to look out for.

Trap jaw ants live in colonies of about 200 members. They don’t build ant hills, but instead hide under rocks, rotting wood, and in the soil. They may also live inside dead trees, however they don’t often burrow into live plants. Here a colony is run by a queen. Queen trap jaw ants aren’t much larger than their workers reaching about half an inch (13mm) in length while workers are just under that. If attacked, the ants will defend their nest and their queen. They’ve been observed performing a “popcorn effect” where the workers will use their jaws to fling themselves in the air in unison and try to sting the intruder away. Trap jaw ants are currently considered some of the fastest moving animals in the world. Not in the sense of how fast they can run, like a cheetah, but in the sense of how fast they are literally able to move. In this way, trap jaw ants are able to close their jaws in far less than a second. When a trap jaw ant’s jaw closes, it moves upwards of 140 miles per hour - most of us never even experience that speed in our lifetimes! This is similar to how a mantis shrimp punches so quickly.

Trap jaw ant queens produce eggs which hatch into larvae that undergo three instars, or three developmental stages. These larvae are small, spend most of their time eating, and the first two of these three larval stages have structures called sticky doorknobs on their bodies. These sticky doorknobs are used to stick the larvae around the nest - they may even be suspended from the ceiling. In their third stage, the larvae are buried and here they’ll spin a silken cocoon as they metamorphosis into adult ants complete with pinching mandibles.

Trap jaw ants also use their quick bite to escape predators when they’re away from the nest on hunting and exploration expeditions and potentially on their own. Antlions build dens specifically for catching wandering ants, but trap jaw ants are able to fling themselves out of these dens if they find themselves stuck inside!

For more facts on trap jaw ants, check out the links in the description. Thank you to Mai and Puppet Fan for today’s request! Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files!