Driver Ants May Be Worse To Have Around Than Fire Ants
We are all familiar with fire ants and their extremely painful, and sometimes deadly, bites. The fire-ant populations have been exploding in the warmer regions of the United States, which has some experts concerned. However, there does exist certain types of ants that are far more dangerous to people than fire ants. One such ant is known as the driver ant, and these ants are mean little creatures. Driver ants are regarded by experts as the most deadly insects on the planet.
Colonies of driver ants are astoundingly large, much larger than fire ant colonies. Driver ant colonies are actually the largest ant colonies in the world. Driver ant colonies can reach membership numbers that exceed twenty two million ants at a time.
One aspect of driver ants that make them so frightening is the fact that they are carnivores. Fire ants just stick to seeds and plants, but driver ants are known to consume entire earthworms. These vicious ants will simply eat or kill anything that stands in its way.
When fire ants bite and sting their prey, they normally do so as a primary method of dealing with threats or prey. In other words, fire ants sting their victims to death. However, driver ants prefer to stick to biting their prey. This is because a bite from a driver ant hurts a whole lot. Once a driver ant has punctured your skin with its large jaws, it can take a long time before you are able to detach the ant from your skin. In fact, driver ants are used by certain African tribes in order to patch up wounds. Apparently, the jaws of a driver ant work more effectively than stitches. So if you happen to see a driver ant while out and about, now you know to walk in the other direction.
Have you ever spotted a driver ant?
