The ant genus of the month is the Cataglyphis genus . It might not win the Ant America Pageant but it would definitely win any desert survival competition. Why? Because it is one of the most heat tolerant animals known to man and one species of this group (Cataglyphis bicolor) lives in the Sahara desert, which can withstand temperatures up to 158 degrees! Considering no known land animal can live permanently in temperatures over 120 degrees -- this is pretty incredible. This ant is a scavenger and survives on the corpses of other arthropods that can’t take the heat. The image comes from www.antweb.org, which has amazing pictures of ants. You can learn about more cool ant facts on my ant research page.

Tags: ants

Hello insect lovers! Welcome to the new Bug Under Glass “Bug Blog”. This blog will feature popular insect culture, bug design, fascinating insect facts, current research or anything else that will lead to a greater understanding of insects.

Tags: insect displays