BBC - Wildlife Finder - Army ant (video, facts and news)

Army ants live in Central and South America. They have a completely carnivorous diet. This is because they need a high fat content in their food so their larvae can complete their growth and development.

Watch video clips from past programmes (3 clips)

In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.

Featured in the following TV programmes

Archived

Andes to Amazon: LOST WORLDS

5th of a 6 part series exploring the wildlife & wild places of South America. Explores the difficulties faced by animals in the lush Amazon rainforest.
Archived

Trials of Life: ARRIVING

A twelve part series outlining the natural history of animal behaviour. Prog.4 investigates predation strategies and evasion methods of prey.

About the Army ant

Eciton burchellii is the predominant species of the genus Eciton and a type of New World army ant. Distinct in its expansive, highly organized swarm raids, it is often considered the archetypal species of "army ant" — so much that the term has become its common name — and remains one of the most heavily investigated of all ant species.

As with most ants, they are polymorphic, meaning that individuals vary in size; a colony contains workers ranging from 3 mm to 12 mm, with each specific "caste" being suited to specialized tasks. As with other species of Eciton, E. burchellii features a highly modified soldier caste bearing long, pointed, characteristically falcate (sickle-shaped) mandibles. Their long legs and elongated body lend a spider-like appearance. Color varies from deep golden to dark brown. Workers possess single faceted compound eyes, double segmented waists, a well developed sting, and specialized tarsal hooks on their feet with which they cling to one another to form bridges and bivouacs.

Colonies may be quite large, accommodating as many as 100,000 to 2,000,000 adult individuals. Each colony consists of a single queen, a brood of developing young, and a majority of adult workers.

Members of the species has been observed using their bodies to block potholes in a path between the nest and prey. The ants will each walk to a hole and measure themselves to see if they are a fit for it and if they are, will lie across the hole to allow other members of the colony to cross at higher speed. If they do not fit, they will continue past the hole and allow another ant to check. Once in place in a hole the ant can stay there for many hours, until it is dark and the traffic flow has diminished greatly, at which point they will return to the nest.

This species is the swarming ant most commonly attended by "ant following" birds such as antbirds and woodcreepers. Insects and other arthropods attempting to escape from E. burchellii are flushed into the attending flocks, and a number of species have evolved behavior to obtain most of their food by following swarms.

Featured in...

David Attenborough's favourite moments

David Attenborough's favourite moments from the last 30 years represent not only memorable personal experiences, but also the diversity of life on our planet and the rapidly changing technological face of broadcasting.