When you think of fast animals, cheetahs and falcons are probably at the top of your list. However, an animal speed record has just been won by an unusual candidate – the dracula ant.
Scientists from the United States have discovered that when these ants snap their jaws, it’s the fastest movement made by any animal. They squeeze the tips of their jaws together, until they snap past each other at speeds of up to 324 kilometres per hour. It’s like clicking your fingers, except a thousand times faster.
“The ants use this motion to smack other arthropods [animals such as insects] likely stunning them,” says Professor Andrew Suarez, one of the researchers.
They then take their prey back to their nests to feed it to their larvae (baby insects, pronounced LAR-vee). This is because the adults can’t digest solid food, but the larvae can. Instead, adult ants feed by chewing holes in the larvae and drinking their blood. This inspired their name, after the famous vampire.
Lachlan Writes Science 