The Panda Ant

In my life everything is intertwined. One things really does lead to another and soon I am a long way from where I began. I have a friend who collects Pandas. So I was looking for some kind of panda item that she might add to her collection. In my search I stumbled across the panda ant. I had never heard of such a thing so the wander began.

I read several different things and learned a few things. One of the things that I found interesting is that the males and females are active at different times of the 24 cycle. This seems odd to me.  When I get done with this you can bet I am going to search and see if there are other species that have that same trait, because I had not seen it before.

I also learned a new word and if you know me you know I love to learn new words.  The word is aposematism and it is defined as “the use of a signal and especially a visual signal of conspicuous markings or bright colors by an animal to warn predators that it is toxic or distasteful: warning coloration Ladybugs are a good example of aposematism, when the bright colors of red, orange, yellow and black serve as a defense mechanism that warns potential predators of past”. That is what the coloring on the panda ants is all about. They have a very painful sting.

The panda ants lay their eggs close to nests of other insects so the young will eat the larvae and survive. It doesn’t seem very neighborly, and it is a a tough way to enter the world.