Question

Which of the following is the world's fastest ant species?
1. Army ant
2. Melophorus
3. Sahara desert ant
4. Saharan silver ant

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 4 : Saharan silver ant

The correct answer is Saharan silver ant.

• Saharan silver ant is the world's fastest ant.
  • The silver ants can run their body length in less than a hundredth of a second—the equivalent of a human running 400 miles an hour.
  • A tiny, glinting missile, the Saharan silver ant blazes across the searing sand in search of dead animals that have succumbed to the heat.
  • As per, new research reveals these fleet-footed foragers are not only the fastest ants alive, but among some of the fastest insects on the planet.
  • The ants’ super-speed is likely one of their adaptations to life in the harsh desert, allowing them to go about their business quickly before getting roasted in temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Saharan silver ants are also relatively spindly, a body shape that helps them dispel heat more easily, and their special, triangular hairs reflect heat and give them their metallic hue.

• The army ant name is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages.
  • This is due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limited area.
• Melophorus is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae and the sole member of the tribe Melophorini.
  • The genus is endemic to Australia, where its species are common in arid and semiarid areas.
• The Sahara Desert ant is a desert-dwelling ant of the genus Cataglyphis.
  • It primarily inhabits the Sahara Desert and is one of the most heat-tolerant animals known to date.