Pretending to be dead !

[sandie]

Hi again, it's been a long time ! After my first ant farm (a blue gel farm), I finally got the time (and the ants) to start again, and certainly better. (I built a little environment with loam, sand, moss and little tree sticks with lichens). I would like to thank everyone for the advise and help I received before. Even being quite ignorant , it's very obvious the different behaviour of the ants when compared to the gel , even if they are there for only a few hours. The ants in the gel where stressed, lost, always trying to escape.

I've just got my first shock when I had to open the farm to add a few that I couldn't get in the first time. For more than one hour I wondered what I had done - I thought lots of ants had suddenly died ! They were, after all, pretending ... they are very well, and started moving almost all at the same time. I had no idea ants had this behaviour ... always thought of them as fierce and aggressive, more willing to fight or run than to do something like this ! Is it a common behaviour ?

Thanks !
Fátima

[Vendayn]

I captured Crazy ant workers (Paratrechina longicornis) and put them in a small container and they all played dead. I thought they were at first and emptied them out, then they continued like normal.

I've also seen Cardiocondyla ants play dead as well.

Most ants I don't see this behavior though.

[Wood~Ant]

I have, on rare occasions, seen single worker ants out foraging feign death, but this was usually in response to a larger predator such as a centipede passing close by.
For many ants to do this in the nest site is odd, as when a nest is opened they usually rush to pick up any brood and flee to safety by going down deep into the nest.

Do you happen to know what species of ants you have Sandie?

[sandie]

I've seen them raising their abdomen high, so does that mean they are Acrobat Ants ? They are red, except for the abdomen which is black and shiny and somewhat triangular shaped.

I found them on a hazelnut tree.

The fact that they didn't run for safety could be explained that they were on an alien environment, had just been introuced to the "farm". However, I remember that while on the tree they didn't run for safety either, but stood very quiet !

[Wood~Ant]

sandie said:

I've seen them raising their abdomen high, so does that mean they are Acrobat Ants ? They are red, except for the abdomen which is black and shiny and somewhat triangular shaped.

I found them on a hazelnut tree.

They do sound as if they might be a Crematogaster species, such as C. scutellaris which is red with a heart-shaped black gaster.
If they are, then the term "Acrobat Ants" is often given to ants of this genus.