Leaf-cutter ants have rocky crystal armor, never before seen in insects

[andai]

The article describes the microscopic plating but doesn't show it. Here's a picture!

http://cdn.sci-news.com/images/enlarge8/image_9093_2e-Acromy...

Source: http://www.sci-news.com/biology/acromyrmex-echinatior-biomin...

[agumonkey]

nature should have filed a patent on nanotechnology

[xeeeeeeeeeeenu]

Another interesting animal, an iron snail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scaly-foot_snail

[ORioN63]

I don't think I've ever came across them before, but not even 20 minutes ago I was just checking out the deep mining wikipedia page that also mentions the same snails.

[suifbwish]

Wow that’s one of the coolest things I never learned about until now

[cookiengineer]

Woah this sounds amazing.

Does anybody know whether there's more details available on the symbiotic bacteria that creates the iron sulfides based armor?

I couldn't find the zoological identifier for it, so it's hard to find across the web.

[29athrowaway]

A mantis shrimp hits as hard as a 22 caliber bullet and can break reinforced glass. The hit of a mantis shrimp generates cavitation sonoluminiscence upon impact.

The pistol shrimp also uses cavitation sonoluminiscence. Its claw creates a bubble that upon collapse reaches 7,700 °C (2,200 °C hotter than the sun).

Researchers created a larger, 3d printed version of the claw that creates the same effect. https://tees.tamu.edu/news/2019/04/shrimp-claw-inspires-new-...

And video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOdRRjskWcc

[tyingq]

I wonder if these ants are immune to the effects of diatomaceous earth. Supposedly, DE pokes holes in the waxy coating over their exoskeleton and the ants die of the resulting dehydration.

[colochef]

Personal experience, the diatomaceous earth does nothing, it barely scares them off.

Also research: https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-economic-entomology/v...

[TheSpiceIsLife]

Some fig wasps have zinc plated ovipositors.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a12957/foun...

[suifbwish]

Knowing that it is possible to have these genetic traits makes me feel that humans are even more delicate than first thought.

[corey_moncure]

And some blood worms have copper fangs!

[hownottowrite]

https://archive.is/vZeQP

[colordrops]

Wow, archive.is is aborting on non-standard user agents. What a horrible practice.

[zrkrlc]

I like how their experiment was literally pitting ants against each other.

[_Microft]

I can't help empathizing with animals in such a situation. It must be like getting teleported into an otherwise empty room with a tiger in it. (Turns out that humans with chainmail fare a lot better than those without!)

[skc]

I did this a lot as a child. Find some random insect (beetle, spider, earthworm), pop it into an ant colony and spend hours watching the ensuing battle.

Never thought of it as cruel, which is unsettling when I imagine what an alien species with superior intelligence might choose to do with us.

[ende]

Just wait until they dig deep enough to craft iron and diamond armor.

[poisonarena]

reddit comment

[mytailorisrich]

Correct link:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/11/leaf-cutt...

[anonytrary]

Why is this comment not higher up? The current link returns a JSON response:

  {"message": "Adapter not found"}

Dang can update the link?

[dang]

Changed from https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/anima.... Thanks!

[nullsense]

I just got this when I tried to hit the page:

{"message": "Adapter not found"}

[sammalloy]

> never before seen in insects

Is this surprising, considering that an estimated 86% of species on Earth and 91% of ocean species remain unidentified?

https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/jou...

[tooltower]

It can be fascinating without being surprising. That argument can be used to downplay any new finding in a poorly explored field.

[learnstats2]

Considering that leaf-cutter ants are well-known to humans (I've seen them in a museum in Amsterdam), I'd say it is surprising that we haven't noticed this before.

[Talanes]

The article takes great pains to point out that Leaf-Cutter Ants are not an unknown species though, they're one of the most-studied species of ant.