458: Hungry ants build a 'fibreglass' trap to put food on the rack

news @ nature.com - Amazonian ants ambush prey - Hungry ants build a 'fibreglass' trap to put food on the rack.:

Using a home-made trap, a tiny species of ant is capable of ensnaring prey much larger than itself and tearing it to pieces.

The ants (Allomerus decemarticulatus), which live in Amazonian plants called Hirtella physophora, construct a honeycomb-like structure out of their host plant's fibres from which they can stage an ambush.

We've discussed camouflage before. This is a more complicated, but the same considerations apply. The ongoing research will investigate the evolution of this behavior.