trap-jaw ants

[home]
[ants]
[not ants]
[blog]
[miscellanea]
[best of myr]
[wallpaper]
[equipment]
[links]
[image use]
[contact]

last updated 1.Oct.2006

Trap-Jaw Ants

Several different groups of ants have independently evolved a novel mandibular trap mechanism for catching prey. Trap-jaw ants lock their mandibles open and store energy in the muscles of the head. When specialized hairs in the trap are triggered, the energy is released and the mandibles close in a powerful and often audible snap.

The trap-jaw ants that appear on myrmecos.net are belong to the subfamilies Ponerinae (Anochetus and Odontomachus) and Myrmicinae (Epopostruma, Orectognathus, and Strumigenys.)

Click on thumbnails to enlarge. Images will open in a new browser window.

Ponerine trap-jaw ants

*Odontomachus bauri*	*Odontomachus bauri*	*Odontomachus bauri*	*Odontomachus bauri*
*Odontomachus bauri*	*Odontomachus coquereli*	*Odontomachus coquereli*	*Odontomachus coquereli*
*Odontomachus coquereli*	*Odontomachus coquereli*	*Odontomachus clarus*	*Odontomachus clarus*
*Odontomachus clarus*	*Odontomachus clarus*	*Odontomachus clarus*	*Odontomachus erythrocephalus*
*Anochetus rectangularis*	*Anochetus simoni*	*Anochetus turneri*

Myrmicine trap-jaw ants

*Epopostruma frosti*	*Epopostruma frosti*	*Epopostruma frosti*	*Epopostruma frosti*
*Orectognathus* *versicolor*	*Orectognathus* *versicolor*	*Orectognathus* *versicolor*	*Strumigenys szalayi*
*Strumigenys szalayi*	*Strumigenys louisianae*	*Strumigenys louisianae*	*Strumigenys louisianae*

[back to top] [back to ant behavior list]