Trap jaws, the right stuff for making an emergency exit | Science News

A trap-jaw ant can use its mandibles to make a rocketlike emergency exit from a hidden killer’s pit. This species can snap its jaws shut at about 150 kilometers per hour. That lets the ant make a quick exit from an ant lion’s lair. Blink, and you’ll miss it, even at half speed. It’s all a blur at full-speed. Read more: F.J. Larabee and A.V. Suarez. Mandible-powered escape jumps in trap-jaw ants increase survival rates during predator-pre