How Does a Carpenter Ant Protect Its Self?
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The Carpenter Ants' Defense Mechanisms
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Carpenter ants are among the largest ants found. They can be identified as carpenter ants by the sections on their body, size and color, although that can vary. The carpenter ant protects itself by using different defense mechanisms in different situations or sometimes all at once. These little creatures may be unable to protect themselves against bears and foot stomps but against creatures that are their own size or even a little bigger they can be painful and deadly.
Carpenter Ants' Layers of Protection
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The first layer of protection a carpenter ant has to defend itself is a special liquid antibiotic. This natural substance coats the exterior body of a carpenter ant, protecting it from germs and fungus. The liquid antibiotic also is exuded over their nests so that it protects offspring from the dangers of the environment. The next layer of protection a carpenter ant maintains for defense is formic acid. Formic acid is injected through the bite of a carpenter ant to cause more sting and pain than only the mandibles or jaws of the ant could produce. A victim of the carpenter ant will be stung painfully enough to give the carpenter ant time to get away. If the biting is done by many carpenter ants together, the victim may die. The last layer of defense the carpenter ant has is a special pheromone or scent that it gives off to predators. This pheromone causes disorientation and confusion in the predator attacking it. These things combine to make a carpenter ant well able to defend itself against predatory attacks.
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Extra Defenses of the Carpenter Ant
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Although the carpenter ant has natural defenses that it is born with such as formic acid and pheromones, it also has extra benefits. A carpenter ant has great strength compared with its body size, great speed and an inane sense of territory. They live in colonies which they protect until death even against other colonies of carpenter ants. Territorial wars between carpenter ants are almost like human wars with battle lines drawn and carcasses strewn about. The victorious carpenter ant colony will take over the losing colony's nest soon after the battle is won.
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