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Fire Ants Falling to Acid-Covered Crazy Ants (5 of 5)

Reports and Proceedings

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Fire Ants Falling to Acid-Covered Crazy Ants (5 of 5)

video: Video clip of a protracted conflict between N. fulva and S. invicta over a dead grasshopper under natural conditions. The S. invicta were the first species to recruit workers to the insect carcass and are in the process of being displaced by N. fulva. Several behaviors are evident in the video. The S. invicta workers can be seen gaster flagging and dispensing venom at the N. fulva workers. After contacting S. invicta venom, the N. fulva workers repeatedly employ the detoxification behavior. This video relates to a paper that appeared in the Feb. 13, 2014, issue of Science Express, published by AAAS. The paper, by Edward LeBrun at The University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas, and colleagues was titled, "Chemical Warfare Among Invaders: A Detoxification Interaction Facilitates an Ant Invasion." view more 

Credit: [Video courtesy of <i>Science</i>/AAAS]


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