In the Amazon jungle discovered the ants, able to control his fall

The object of study of a group of researchers at the University of Louisville are national, headed by ecologist Stephen Novacom steel ants Cephalotes atratus, inhabits the tops of giant trees in the wilds of the Amazonian forests of Argentina. Scientists were amazed by the unique ability of insects: in the moment when they tore off branches a gust of wind, they still land on the trunk of your tree. Otherwise they would have met with inevitable destruction.
As it turned out, this was made possible by the ability of Cephalotes atratus to shift when you drop the center of gravity. This tactic makes the flight managed to land and allows the ants strictly on its hind legs. Externally, the trajectory of their flight somewhat resembles the Latin "J".



As an experiment, the researchers 120 ants dropped from a height of about 30 meters, after which 95% is returned to native ant, after only 10 minutes. This insect helps the ability to navigate in the fall relative to the barrel and the smell of pheromones are special chemical substances secreted by the ants.

Source: techcult.ru