Forget ninjas—Panamanian termites (Termes panamaensis) were the original masters of fighting in close quarters. The termites have the world's fastest mandible strike at 230 feet per second, according to a recent study at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. A whack from a termite soldier's mandible is enough to injure or kill an enemy, such as a predatory ant or a soldier from a competing termite species.
The scientists think the Panamanian termite's defense is an adaptation to battle in the narrow tunnels of its nest, where there isn't much room to maneuver. "The termite soldiers do not employ stealth or surprise as a tactic," the researchers say, "because they are facing their adversary."
How do they muster such oomph? The termites compress their mandibles together so they build up energy like a coiled spring. The strike is executed when the mandibles are released, crossing over each other in a scissorlike motion. Postmortems of invading termites found that they had not been stabbed or pierced. Rather, they'd been killed by a blow to the head.
Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.
Related topics: Insects and Spiders
Additional Sources
"The rapid mandible strike of a termite soldier" by Marc A. Seid, Rudolf H. Scheffrahn and Jeremy E. Niven, Current Biology, Vo. 18, No. 22, November 25, 2008.
Comments (1)
Thank you for this article. It helped me a lot on one of my many science projects. I would like to know, how would this article affect myself, my family, and my community? Also, please keep writing articles on animals. They are soooooo fascinating. Thanks so much.
Posted by Brianna Mayo on May 16,2009 | 07:31 PM