Karoo balbyter ant
Camponotus fulvopilosus
The Karoo balbyter ant is a carpenter ant that lives in dry, rocky parts of southern Africa. When it feels in danger, it sprays acid. It is a great navigator that always finds its way home.
Lives in
Dry, rocky places in southern Africa, from Angola to South Africa
What does it eat?
Like other carpenter ants, it eats sweet juices as well as small insects.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Karoo balbyter ant about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
When it is threatened, it sprays formic acid from a gland at the end of its body.
2
On the way home from finding food it keeps track of its steps and directions.
3
It also remembers landmarks, like rocks and bushes, to find its nest.
4
Its other name, yellow-haired sugar ant, comes from its golden hairs.
you asked
Most asked questions about Karoo balbyter ant
?How do ants find their way home?
This ant counts its path and also remembers landmarks around its nest.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Camponotus fulvopilosus
- Group
- Ants
- Family
- Formicidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hymenoptera > Formicidae
- Lives on
- Africa
- Also known as
- Yellow-haired sugar ant
Where the facts come from
- Camponotus fulvopilosus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by (c) Jonghyun Park, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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