Gliding Ants

Many species of ants that inhabit in the tropical rain forest platform apply a kind of gliding otherwise known as directed aerial descent to trace back their home tree trunk anytime they accidentally drop from the branches of trees. Whenever a gliding ant drops, jump or displaced from a tree branch either by a moving monkey or breeze, it goes down directly some meter away. Almost immediately, it alters itself very fast positioning to the extent that its abdomen is directed towards the tree trunk. With this, the falling ant is invariably points the way by air in form of a steep glide and finally at the trunk.

WHAT MAKES THE RELATIONSHIP INTERESTING?

Understanding the gliding attitude of ants attracts attention and it is very important for so many reasons:
It marks the introductory recorded instance of gliding flight of all living insect without wings. Besides, it is also the number one documented of deliberate backwards gliding found in any macro-organism.
Undoubtedly, it beyond any human imaginations. No human including the biologists ever give it a thought.
Again, this is a suitable instance of a novel adaptation to a solid selective pressure as well as parallel evolution. This attitude in question happens in non-identical groups of ants, the cephalotini and pseudomyrmecinae to be precise.
At the time when a drastic but minimum and less standard research are prevalent, it is motivating to realize that mind boggling discoveries are still very possible by merely observing organisms in their habitat.
It buttress the call and necessity for non-stop research in tropical forest umbrellas particularly studies by direct indicates that arboreal existence presents special tasks for several species.

METHOD OF IDENTIFYING THIS BEHAVIOR

Some of situation that can combine to promote this discoveries include:

Ants are very visible and excessive in tropical tree crowns.
Any specialist such as biologist devoting valuable time to work 30m above the ground can potentially develop deep interest on the ways things are falling.

Can we call this a vital piece of the puzzle of the evolution of flight in insects? When compared to the rest of insects, ants are more complex lineage; get ant workers are wingless as a second attribute. Hence, gliding behavior being seeing in ants obviously has nothing to do with the evolution of flight. On the other hand, the discovery as well as our continuous research with jumping bristle tails and other basal taxa can potentially gives more insight over the evolution of flight in insects.

WHAT MAKES ANTS GLIDE?

Essentially, it prevents them from getting lost. Naturally, one of the duties of ant workers is the searching and bringing into nest food and other valuable materials. From all indications, the task involves a lot of risk. Be reminded that the day active ants in search of food are always at the mercy of lizards, birds or anteaters as well as torments and distractions from the other mammals passing along. In case any worker ants fall off the tree for any reason, there is a high tendency that it finds itself in unfamiliar terrains only to be swallowed by the predators. Any worker that missed its ways or get lost in the process of finding food is a loss to the colony. Therefore, selection must be in support of any trait which is against attacks on the workers. There is already a sticky feet being example and now gliding can be included.

ARE ALL ARBOREAL ANTS GLIDE?

Not exactly! This behavior has just been noticed mainly in arboreal species particularly the myrmicine tribe cephalotini as well as the sub family pseudomyrmecinae. All present, the field work is concentrating on species in the subfamily Formicinae and Camponotus species to be précised. Going by the data collected till date, all arboreal dolichoderines as well as non-cephalotine myrmicines are excluded from gliding.

WHAT IS THEIR METHOD OF GLIDING?

Even though the research is still on going, but we are pretty sure that ants apply visual cues for them to re-discover tree trunks in the process of falling. Besides, not too long, we indicate that they favor orient to whitish or shining-colored columns as they are very similar to their natural focus: lichen-covered trunks. We guess that the movements of the hind legs, abdomen and head are applied to direct the ant with the tree at same time modify the direction of the glide.

WHAT ARE OTHER GLIDING ANIMALS?

Popularly, flying squirrels sugar gliders as well as other mammals are known for this. In addition, some species of frogs and lizards similarly glide. In Asia tropical forests, many wonderful snakes do glide.