Ant with fake giant claws!

Look at this ant! Is he planning on scaring his friends by holding a giant set of claws in front of his face? I slowed the video down so you can get a better look because - as you know - these guys move fast!! In fact, they are the fastest moving creatures in the animal kingdom (for their size) and the trap-jaw ant has the ability to close its jaws at about 140 mph!

Ants have inhabited our planet for over 100 million years. There are more than 22,000 known ant species!

Ants have high levels of socialization, defined by their cooperative brood care, division of labor and generations of large colonies. Ants have colonized almost every part of the world, except Antarctica and some other remote and inhospitable areas.

Little black ants are scavengers that will consume anything from bird droppings to dead insects. Workers may forage in households, but nest in soil mounds. I don’t know where this particular ant found these big jaws, but I’m glad he’s staying outside.

While you’re having a look at our busy, masquerading friend, here are a few more interesting ant facts.

⁃ An ant's body is divided into 3 main sections. The head is where the eyes, antennae, and mandibles are located. The middle section is where all 6 legs are attached. The back end of the ant is called the Metasoma. It contains organs and may have a stinger.
⁃ Ants don’t have ears so they hear with the help of their feet. They basically feel vibrations through the ground. They communicate with chemicals called pheromones.
⁃ A single ant has the ability to lift 20 times its own body weight.
⁃ Ants don't have lungs or a heart. Air enters through their exoskeleton. A tube runs the length of the ant, acting like a heart by moving fluid.
⁃ Ants are great at colonizing and as many as 50 million ants can come together to form a single, cooperative and highly efficient colony.
⁃ The queen ant of a particular ant species has been reported to be able to live up to 30 years.
⁃ One of the largest ant’s nests ever found was over 3700 miles wide.
⁃ Ants are normally super aggressive and feisty so when they fight among themselves, it is usually to the death!
⁃ Red fire ants are unusually small, however, they cause over $5 billion worth of damage every year!