Australian scientists have discovered a new ghost ant named after Lord Voldemort

There are more than 10,000 species of ants on the planet, but researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) have discovered one of the deadliest.. It’s about the types “Voldemort Leptanilla”found after excavations in the arid Pilbara region. in northern Western Australia.

These insects are present throughout the world except the Arctic and Antarctic. They are especially common in tropical forests, endowed with truly exceptional qualities and although rarely exceeding two centimeters in length, they are the strongest in the world, capable of lifting almost three times their body weight.

The new look has Some characteristics make it even more special: it is subterranean, pale, slender in build, with thin legs and long, sharp jaws. It is because of these characteristics that he seems to have some kind of connection with Lord Voldemort, the famous villain from Harry Potter.

Principal InvestigatorDr Mark Wong, UWA School of Biological Sciences, That’s what he called them (L. Voldemort for short), in honor of the “Dark Lord” since these ants have a ghostly appearance and live in the shadows.

What you didn’t know about ants

Although ants are very common insects, they are endowed with truly exceptional and unique qualities.: For example, they are very small but have great strength. They also share very similar features to wasps and bees, having evolved from a common ancestor.

They are especially common in forests tropical, where they can make up up to half of the insects inhabiting this place.

One of his most famous traits is his hypersociality. They are organized into communities located underground, the axis of power of which is the queen ant, and the remaining groups are assigned specific functions within the colony, with a common goal: protecting the lives of the queen’s daughters so that the species continues to survive. .

Ants communicate and cooperate using chemicals that can alert others to danger. or take them to a promising food source. They usually eat nectar, seeds, mushrooms or insects.

However, some species have a more unusual diet. Some species are scavengers and others are herbivores, and in the Amazon there is a known case where members of this species collaborated to create traps and thus managed to hunt prey.

The discovered ant has something unique

Among thousands of ant species, only about 60 belong to the genus Leptanilla. As we have already mentioned, social life is one of the greatest advantages of these insects, however, this variant is very different even in social behavior, since they live in small colonies, usually consisting of a queen and only a hundred workers, whom they nest and feed exclusively underground. .

Only two specimens of the new ant were found, and both were collected in a net, which was lowered into a 25-meter drilled hole and retrieved by scraping the inside of the hole.

L. Voldemort This is the second species of leptanilla discovered on the continent, so the find attracts special attention. To describe it, there is nothing better than to mention some characteristics of this formidable ant:

• It is adapted to life in the dark.
• She’s blind.
• Very small size (1 to 2 mm).
• He has sharp jaws.
• It can bite and immobilize other larger animals.
• It feeds on decaying corpses.
• They lack pigmentation.
• They feed on small arthropods such as centipedes.

The two specimens discovered will continue to be analyzed as the qualities of these insects continue to surprise scientists. The evolution of these insects takes millions of years.

One of the aspects that has most attracted the attention of researchers is that These ants “play dead” to survive, they have a powerful venom and feed on hemolymph. the circulating fluid (for example, our blood) of the larvae of a captured specimen. That’s why they’re convinced there’s still a lot to learn about this new species, which lives in one of the most diverse countries on the planet.