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How wood ants use sunlight to heat their nest

How wood ants use sunlight to heat their nest

Watch as a nest of ants spray formic acid at a nearby jay.
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Related Articles: ant , commensalism , Eurasian jay , formic acid , Jay , Passeriform

Transcript

A wood ant's nest in the pine forests of northern Germany. This large, dome-shaped nest provides a steady temperature for the ants to raise their young, and they maintain this in an ingenious way. They sunbathe. Their black bodies act as storage heaters, absorbing the sun’s warmth, which they take back to release inside the nest.

A European jay has discovered the nest. But the bird is greeted by a defensive army. The angry ants discharge a shower of formic acid. It’s just what the jay was after. The acid is a powerful insecticide which rids its plumage of parasites. A quick dowsing and it's off again.