Baby bugs dare ants to attack

TALK about reckless. The nymphs of one species of assassin bug are the only animals known that need their prey to attack them first. Matthew Bulbert of Macquarie University in North Ryde, Australia, and his colleagues observed the nymphs (Ptilocnemus lemur) waving their hairy hind legs at larger predatory ants – often the venomous jack jumper ant (Myrmecia pilosula). But once the ant had grabbed its leg, the nymph turned the tables. It swivelled so it was on top, then pierced the back of the ant’s head. It sounds a risky ploy, but the team never saw a nymph killed. Indeed, the nymphs nearly always killed the ants, securing a big meal. Nymphs only attacked if the ants did so first (Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.02.006). Bulbert says the trick may have begun as a way to ward off ants, but has since been transformed into predatory behaviour.