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The most terrifying ants of all are the Onkorr ants, which march through the forest with the sole intent of turning every creature into skeletons in a few minutes. They produce a faint hissing sound and distinct ant-army odor, the odor is actually a gas which causes animals as well as humans to pass out. This means less struggling for the ants as they consume larger mammals. They’re like a wolf pack, but with tens of thousands of miniature beasts of prey which merge and unite to form one great living creature.
The ants live in tropical or sub tropical forests.
They only move by night, which makes it easier to spot them at a long distance. This is because they are bright like fire flies.
The Onkorr ants’ jaws are so powerful that locals uses them to suture wounds: the tenacious insect is held over a wound and its body squeezed so that its jaws instinctively shut, clamping the flesh together. The body was then pinched off. The locals are also familiar with a plant that can be rubbed on your body to prevent the animals from attacking you.
Larvae carried by workers produce pheromones which stimulate the army to keep on the move. When the larvae begin to pupate and no longer exude their chemical messages, the ants bivouac in a vast ball in a hollow.
They actually cling to one another and make a nest of their bodies, complete with passageways and chambers where the eggs are deposited. Once the queen lays her eggs and these hatch as larvae, a new generation of workers and soldiers synchronistically emerges from the stored pupae. The larvae begin to secrete their characteristic pheromone, and the army is again stimulated to march off and terrorize the bush.
Additional Information
November 13, 2005, 12:22
November 14, 2005, 16:19
November 16, 2005, 23:12
March 30, 2012, 7:05
I began reading this with imagry of flaming ants rampaging through the jungle setting the area ablaze with their passing. But was disappointed when nothing detailed why the 'burning bodies' was explained here, "The name Onkorr given by locals means burning, which again has two meanings; burning bites and burning bodies."
Nothing really hits on why their bites burn or their bodies burn, perhaps this is just incomplete. I think this has some huge merit and potential but is flawed with its lack of completeness. I hope you can return to this and flesh it out more. On a side note, the fact they create their nest (odd for ants but still cool) out of their own bodies is nifty. I picture cankers of these masses on sides of trees unknown to passerbys who lean onthem not knowing what they are until it is to late.