BrainStuff Classics: What Made the Prehistoric 'Hell Ant' So Diabolical?

Instead of a mouth, the hell ant had blades and a metal horn. Learn more about this prehistoric creature on BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff.
I'm Lauren voc Obaum and this is another classic episode
from our previous host, Christian Sagar. This one talks about
perhaps the smallest of the completely wild prehistoric creatures, the
hell ant. Hey brain Stuff is Christian Sagar. Here, fire ants,

(00:24):
carpenter ants, bull ants. There are a lot of ant
species that can cause a great deal of harm. The
worst one alive today, according to the Guinness World Records,
is the bulldog aunt. It has killed at least three humans,
some within fifteen minutes. But perhaps the worst aunt ever

(00:45):
was the hell aunt, a prehistoric insect that was recently
discovered incased in a chunk of Myanmar amber dating to
the Late Cretaceous period. Evolutionary biologist Philip Barden of the
New Jersey Institute of Technology and his team wrote about
the hell aunt discovery in the journal Systemic Entomology. The

(01:07):
hell aunt got its name from its anatomy and behavior.
Instead of having a typical mouth, the hell aunt had
blades that stuck upward, think like tusks, plus a horn
that was reinforced with metal. Scientists don't know for sure
how the hell aunt used its unusual appendages, but they
have some theories. First, it seems clear that the ant's

(01:30):
tusks and horn were mainly used for catching prey, So
here's one possible m O. When it came to finding dinner.
When a tasty insect passed nearby, the hell ance jaw
tusks would flip the insect up and onto its horn,
impaling it. Spearing prey does take a toll, though, which
is probably why the hell ants horn was clad with metal.

(01:53):
And if that isn't gruesome enough, researchers say this prehistoric
insect might have had some vampire like tendencies to When
the ants snagged its prey, its tusk like jaws clothes
to form a gutter, which may have been a means
of funneling the insects blood right down into the ant's gullet.

(02:13):
The hell ants, scientifically known as Lingua mirmes vlady, was
discovered in a chunk of amber that was nine million
years old. Although it's unusual appendages were likely used to
catch its food, researchers say they may have occasionally been
used defensively. This is not the only insects sporting metal, either.

(02:34):
Some present day termite species actually have zinc and manganese
in their mandibles. However, there are no modern ants similarly equipped.
Today's episode was written by Melanie Redzeeki McManus and produced
by Tristan McNeil and Tyler Clang. For more in this

(02:57):
monts of other metal topics, visit how Stuff Works dot M.
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