Research - Gliding Ants - Non-glide Videos
Video #4 shows workers of C. carinata falling from the crown of a Swietenia macrophylla tree (ca. 30 m above ground) near Iquitos, Peru. Their behavior is typical of all Crematogaster spp. dropped so far. The ants in this video were dusted with orange powder to improve contrast. The plastic vial was painted with fluon on the inside, allowing these tiny ants to be dropped without using forceps.
This video shows workers of Pheidole sp. falling from the crown of a Swietenia macrophylla tree (ca. 30 m above ground) near Iquitos, Peru. As with Crematogaster above, these ants were dusted with orange powder to improve contrast.
This video shows a worker P. clavata in an uncontrolled fall from the crown of a Hymenaea coubaril tree (ca. 25 m above ground) on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. The ant was painted white before being dropped.