Dorylinae
|
|
| Driver ant species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tribes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Aenictini |
The Dorylinae is an old-world subfamily of the Formicidae commonly referred to as Driver ants (although this term also encompasses species from other subfamilies).
Driver ants form characteristic long roads of ants which they fiercely defend against anything that encounters them. Unlike (New World) army ants which are largely ineffective against larger animals, the powerful bites and huge numbers of driver ants (often over 20 million in a colony), as well as their habit of swarming into any opening in the body of their prey (including the mouth and nose), make them a force to be reckoned with. There have been reported cases of humans - usually the young, infirm, or otherwise debilitated who could not escape - being killed and consumed by them.
Male driver ants, sometimes known as "sausage flies" (a term also applied to males of New World Army ants), are the largest known ant morphs in existence, and were originally believed to be a different species. When a colony of driver ants encounters a male, they tear its wings off and carry it back to the nest to be mated with the queen.
One of the interesting characteristics of Driver Ants is their means of travel. They move in gigantic "lines," with the smaller ants being flanked by the larger, stronger ants. The fighter ants automatically take up positions as sentries, and set a perimeter in which the smaller ants can run safely. This is just one facet of the Driver Ant's ability to carry out very difficult maneuvers.