What might be causing this ant to behave this way? Warning: May be disturbing

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winnie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
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10
Tbone192 said:
My immediate thought is some sort of parasitic fungus...

Some sort of ophiocordyceps so for sure
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My first thought was less specific. Just some kind of disease or parasite. Eventually, though, I thought of Ophiocordyceps as well.
 
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winnie

Arachnopeon
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
10
Venom. I feel so stupid that it took this long for it to occur to me. Our home is a bug-lover's paradise. We have a huge variety of arthropods, including spiders, wasps, centipedes, and so on. I still can't say this with 100% certainty, but I think the most likely culprit is venom.

Heck, we have poisonous ones, too. So many things could cause this.
 
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Tbone192

Tbone192

Arachnoknight
Active Member
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May 28, 2020
Messages
258
winnie said:
Venom. I feel so stupid that it took this long for it to occur to me. Our home is a bug-lover's paradise. We have a huge variety of arthropods, including spiders, wasps, centipedes, and so on. I still can't say this with 100% certainty, but I think the most likely culprit is venom.

Heck, we have poisonous ones, too. So many things could cause this.
Click to expand...
Very true! There are a lot of possibilities in this instance. Although, the main reason I lean towards it being a fungus is that...

A) if it were pesticides you would likely see a group of ants dying in a similar way.

B) if it were venom, the ant would likely be more injured or would be in the mouth of a predator.

C) that looks like the pose fungus afflicted ants assume before a fruiting body bursts forth to spread spores. Typically this is from a high point not the floor though.

I could absolutely be wrong, this is just what I feel explains the situation best with the information available. I may be overlooking something, either way interesting find. Thanks for sharing.
 
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