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| Flying Ants; Could worker ants re-evolve flight? | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 22 2010, 11:47 PM (2,907 Views) | |
| Spugpow | Oct 22 2010, 11:47 PM Post #1 |
Prime Specimen
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I don't know how widely known this is, but apparently there are some ants that, upon falling off a branch, are able to glide back to their tree. Here's a link to a website with more info and videos of ants gliding: http://www.canopyants.com/glide_intro.html The question is, could the ants take this further, re-evolving the flight they lost so long ago? Secondary question: how did insect flight evolve anyway? I've heard some vague mumblings about paranotal lobes and larval gills, but it's still kind of a mystery to me.
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| Spugpow | Oct 23 2010, 03:37 PM Post #16 |
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Prime Specimen
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Ah, good point. What do those nest building ants eat, anyways? |
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| Ook | Oct 23 2010, 03:57 PM Post #17 |
not a Transhuman
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everything as normal ants |
   
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| Xenon | Oct 23 2010, 04:49 PM Post #18 |
Newborn
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This may be too much off-topic, but whatever. When I look at your second picture, I don't think of an flying ant but a swimming one. How about aquatic ants? They would make their colonies in shallow and calm waters, cleansing the bottom from animals small enough to bring back, dead or alive. And when they're out of oxygen they could use their flipper-like legs too ascend to the surface too breath. They would also be effective when fleeing from a predator. The colony itself would probably have to be very advanced, 100% waterproof, solid enough to endure the aquatic pressure, and with a constant supply of oxygen. But given the complexity of some ant colonies today, I doubt it would be impossible. |
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| Spugpow | Oct 23 2010, 05:47 PM Post #19 |
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You're right, they do look more aquatic  Actually, there is a kind of ant that lives in mangrove swamps and has its nest regularly flooded by the rising tide, so it's not too much of a stretch. Edit: Slivovica, do you know the genus these ants belong to? Thanks.  Also, how do you make photos show up in your posts? Edited by Spugpow, Oct 23 2010, 05:51 PM.
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| Ook | Oct 24 2010, 02:57 AM Post #20 |
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not a Transhuman
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i just wrote polyarchis nest,then just copyed picture that mangorve ant is some species from genus camponotus,they have similar soldier caste as european camponotus truncatus-door keeepers(i guess the queens have this weird head too,as c.truncatus queen have it too) with armored head,they serve as live doors,they block entrance with their head and water cant enter nest c.truncatus head  
Edited by Ook, Oct 24 2010, 03:19 AM.
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| Xenon | Oct 24 2010, 06:38 AM Post #21 |
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It's easy! Just type (or copy/paste) [img](the web adress of your picture)[/img] and you're done  And do you know which species it is that lives in mangrove swamps? I'm intrigued. |
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| Adman | Oct 24 2010, 06:51 AM Post #22 |
Totally not lamna
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I suppose the ants could take this further and become miniature kites, gliding across the forest canopy |
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Projects and concepts that I have stewing around Extended Pleistocene- An alternate future where man died out, and the megafauna would continue to thrive (may or may not include a bit about certain future sapients) Inverted World- An alternate timeline where an asteroid hit during the Barremian, causing an extinction event before the Maastrichtian. Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and notosuchians make it to the present, along with a host of other animals. Badania- Alien planet that has life at a devonian stage of development, except it exists in the present day. Ido- Alien world where hoppers (derived flightless ballonts) and mouthpart-legged beasts are prevalent. Leto- Life on a moon orbiting a gas giant with an erratic orbit; experiences extremes of hot and cold. The Park- ??? Deeper Impact- a world where the K-Pg extinction wipes out crocodilians, mammals, and birds; squamates, choristoderes, and turtles inherit the earth. World of Equal Opportunity- alternate history where denisovans come across Beringia and interact with native fauna. Much of the Pleistocene fauna survives, and the modern humans that end up crossing into North America do not overhunt the existing animals. 10,000 years later, civilizations exist that are on par with European and Asian societies. The Ditch- Nothing is what if seems.. | |
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| Spugpow | Oct 25 2010, 12:47 AM Post #23 |
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Prime Specimen
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Bizzarely, there's another ant in the genus Cephalotes with the exact same adaptation.  Thank you Xenon Silvovica, that picture is amazing, the scalloped texture on that ant's head really gets me. Edited by Spugpow, Oct 25 2010, 12:48 AM.
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| colddigger | Oct 25 2010, 12:56 AM Post #24 |
Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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Ants are such lovely things... Say, weaver ants use silk don't they? Then the aquatic ants could use silk to store air bubbles for them to live in, much like aquatic spiders do. Their entire colony could live underwater with only a swimming class specialized for gathering fresh air breaking the surface. That and queens/drones. |
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| Spugpow | Oct 25 2010, 01:06 AM Post #25 |
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Interesting idea, Silver Slave. Considering how long ants can survive underwater, constructing the nest probably wouldn't be a problem. Here's a short wikipedia article about the swamp ant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyrhachis_sokolova There's also excellent video clips of it on the internet, just google its name. |
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| Ook | Oct 25 2010, 08:48 AM Post #26 |
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not a Transhuman
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there will be more problems with eggs,larva and cocon,but it could basicaly work with adults....but i think that species will have then smaller colonies,perhaps 100-500 weaver ants use silk of their larvas Edited by Ook, Oct 25 2010, 08:49 AM.
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| colddigger | Oct 25 2010, 11:55 AM Post #27 |
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Joke's over! Love, Parasky
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Yeah, I figured the colony would be rather small... You don't think that they'd be able to use their larvae under water like that? Actually that makes a lot of sense -things getting a little complicated for larvae and pupae and eggs, at least at first since the queen couldn't possibly build her underwater nest on her own... |
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| Ook | Oct 25 2010, 03:38 PM Post #28 |
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not a Transhuman
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i am a little bit pessimistic about it,that larvas will propably drown |
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| Xenon | Oct 25 2010, 04:41 PM Post #29 |
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Ah, thank you! I searched for videos of this thing and found this amazing clip on YouTube; These ants are already finely adapted for an amphibian lifestyle, and given the rise of the sea level that's going on right now, I think it's fully possible for them to adapt themselves into being even more aquatic, until they finally loose connection with the inner land completely. |
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| Spugpow | Oct 25 2010, 11:21 PM Post #30 |
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"i am a little bit pessimistic about it,that larvas will propably drown" Not if the larvae spin themselves silk scuba tanks  .Perhaps the nest could start on a branch overhanging the water and then gradually expand underwater as the colony matures...Or maybe it could just hang over the water with a silk "ladder" allowing workers to make forays into the pond... |
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