Matabele ant
The Matabele ant is one of the biggest ants in the world. It is a termite hunter. Hundreds of ants march out together in a long line, like a little army, to raid termites and carry them home.
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Fun facts
Some of these ants are up to 2.5 centimetres long, as long as a paper clip.
Scout ants search around the nest for termites and then lead the army there.
They go raiding three to five times a day, mostly in the morning and late afternoon.
They give off a smell like poo. Their old scientific name foetens even means stinking.
A special little frog can live inside their nest. Its skin makes the ants leave it alone.
Most asked questions about Matabele ant
?What do Matabele ants eat?
Only termites. They raid termite feeding spots in big marching groups.
?How big is a Matabele ant?
Workers are about 5 to 18 millimetres long, and some reach 2.5 centimetres.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Megaponera analis
- Named by
- Latreille, 1802
- Group
- Ants
- Family
- Formicidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Formicidae
- Lives on
- Africa
Where the facts come from
- Megaponera (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by ETF89. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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