Can Ants Jump?

Yes, ants can jump. While rare, there are a handful of ants capable of jumping. These ants propel themselves with their legs or jaws. They include Gigantiops, Myrmecia, and trap-jaw ants.

In this article, we’ll learn more about jumping ants as we discuss the following:

Which ants jump
How ants jump
Why ants jump

can ants jump — “Jumping ant (Harpegnathos salta)” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by srikaanth.sekar

Table of Contents

Which Ants Can Jump?

There are only 6 of 326 ant genera that have been confirmed capable of jumping. These genera are as follows: [1]

Gigantiops (Forminicae)

“Gigantiops_Destructor” (CC BY 2.0) by Kit Martin

Gigiantops is a monotypic ant genus found in northern South America. They’re known for their large eyes and ability to jump with their legs.

Harpegnathos (Ponerinae)

The Harpegnathos is a small genus of ants found in Southeast Asia. These ants have large workers with big eyes and distinct long scythe-shaped mandibles.

Like the Gigantiops, they are capable of jumping with their legs.

Myrmecia (Myrmeciinae)

Myrmecia is a large genus of ants commonly found throughout Australia. These ants are predators. They’re characterized by their aggressive behavior and painful stings. Some species are also known for their jumping behavior when they’re agitated.

Odontomachus (Ponerinae)

Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Odontomachus is a genus of ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world. They’re commonly known as trap-jaw ants due to their odd-looking heads.

These heads bear strong, large, straight, elongated mandibles that can open 180 degrees. They typically use these mandibles to maim and kill their prey. But they’re also learned to use them to jump away when they feel disturbed.

Some trap-jaw ants are also capable of jumping with their legs.

Anochetus (Ponerinae)

The Anochetus is a genus of small ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world. They’re regarded as the sister genus of Odontomachus due to their similar mandibular structure. Likewise, they also use these mandibles to jump.

Strumigenys (Myrmicinae)

Strumigenys is a species-rich genus yet again found in the tropics and subtropics. These are small, cryptic ants that nest and forage in leaf litter, in soil, or in rotten wood. They have long forceps-like trap-jaw mandibles which they use to jump from danger.

How Do Ants Jump?

Going through the list, you may have noticed the 2 ways that ants jump: leg and jaw jumping. Let’s break each down to understand how ants jump.

Leg Jumping

Leg-jumping as the name implies is driven by the legs. This is similar to how other insects like grasshoppers jump. That said, it’s hard to imagine ants jumping with their hair-thin legs. So how do they do it?

Research on jumping ants describes how ants jump with their legs in 4 phases. These phases are as follows: [2]

Pre-jump Phase. In this phase, the ant flexes the femorotibial joints of its mid and hindlegs. At the same time, they also raise the front part of their bodies. In doing so, they move the center of gravity backward towards their hind legs. This action will result in less torque during takeoff.

Takeoff Phase. At the takeoff phase, the ant straightens the femorotibial joints of its mid and hindlegs. They do this at the same time to generate an acceleration that propels the ant up and forward.

Flight Phase. After takeoff comes the flight phase. At this phase, the ant raises and moves its mid and hindlegs forward. This is to shift the center of gravity back to the front. All the while, the front legs are partly stretched and directed forward.

Landing Phase. To prepare for landing, the ant laterally stretches its mid and hindlegs. They then stretch their forelegs fully forward before touching the ground.

Another study on Gigantiops ants revealed that they use their abdomen when jumping. These ants begin their jump by rotating their abdomens forward on takeoff. This provides additional thrust and improves jump distance, height, and velocity.

Mandible or Jaw Jumping

Jaw jumping while rather unusual is a little more straightforward. To jump, jaw-jumping ants quickly strike the substate with their mandibles. This generates a force that propels them backward.

Everything comes down to jaw strength. The jaw strikes of these ants yield forces that exceed their own body weight. These forces they generate can push them back for more than 20 times their body length.

Why Do Ants Jump?

Ants jump for a variety of reasons, but they mostly do it to flee from danger. Both jaw and leg jumpers alike, jump away to safety when they perceive threats. This makes them extremely mobile and hard to capture.

Apart from that, leg jumpers also jump for general locomotion or to capture prey.

Summary

To summarize, ants can jump. Despite their physical limitations, some ants can jump from one point to another. They do so by using either their legs or mandibles.