Ants

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The Ant Whisperers Scientists have discovered how certain baby caterpillars use rhythm to trick ants into caring for them until they mature into butterflies. Findings released yesterday suggest rhythm—long studied in primates—plays a key role in insect survival and may influence animal interactions more broadly than thought.  Caterpillar species dependent on ants (see overview) produce vibrational signals that mimic the ants' communication patterns—like a rhythmic "secret knock." The signals prompt ants to carry the caterpillars into their nests, where the caterpillars receive protection and food. In some cases, the caterpillars feed on the ants' young. Both ants and the most ant-dependent caterpillars generate a steady beat called isochrony. The caterpillars and ants also produce a rarer rhythmic pattern known as double meter, alternating long and short beats, which has been observed mainly in a few primates. The closer a species' survival depends on ants, the more closely its rhythms match the colony's. Watch ants adopting a caterpillar here.

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Airborne Ant Trap

Researchers have identified a new Australian spider that catapults its prey into the air with an acceleration roughly 15 times greater than that experienced by jet pilots, according to a study published this week. A two-person team spent 10 nights in the rain forest recording the nocturnal species with high-speed and infrared cameras. The spider spends up to four hours spinning tension lines into a cone on a leaf, branch, or the forest floor. Researchers suspect it releases pheromones to lure green ants—the spider's only prey. When an ant bites the cone, the trap launches the insect nearly a foot into the air in a fraction of a second and into a primary web, where the spider feasts (watch infrared recording). The snare-like contraption is the first known web triggered by the prey rather than the predator and the first designed to target a single species.  While the spider has yet to be formally named, it's been coined the ballista spider, after an ancient Roman weapon used to launch stones (watch how it works).