Adelaide: Researchers in Australia found a colony of ants that they thought were dead ants, but one of the dead ants moved, revealing that all the ants were actually acting dead.
Death faking has been observed as a defense mechanism in many animals, from insects and lizards to birds and mammals.
Some of them may act naturally better than others, but what they all have in common is that these defense strategies are individualized. These ants are the first species whose entire colony is simultaneously acting out to die when threatened by humans. Until the team is convinced that she is indeed dead.
Associate Professor S in the team. Toppa Petit said that the acting of these ants was excellent. We saw all these dead ants but the mystery dawned on us when one ant moved slightly.
This type of defense mechanism is found only in a few ant species, but that too at the individual level or within a specific class within a colony. However, the entire colony of Polyrhachis femorata is involved in this process.