TURTLE ANT Soldier
Cephalotes varians
©Alex Wild
The bizarre disc on the head is used as a living door to block the nest entrance. To enter the nest in a mangrove twig, a foraging worker must pass this door-guarding soldier whose head is roughly the same size and shape as the entrance. These ants don’t build the nests themselves; rather, they inhabit burrows made by beetle larvae.
Turtle ants aren’t fighters. Rather, they’re all about defense. If a colony gets hold of an old beetle burrow, the heavily armored majors will plug the entrance with their head shield and sit tight, budging only to let their nestmates pass. They are literally living doors.
Fact Source and more photos:
http://scienceblogs.com/myrmecos/2010/04/answer_to_the_monday_night_mys.php
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jfhsjdkfhsdjkfgjsdkhgfjshdgf
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I dub thee flathead talisman ant
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Now that’s using your head. /rimshot
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TURTLE ANT Soldier Cephalotes varians ©Alex Wild The bizarre disc on the head is used as a living door to block the nest...
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