Dracula Ants Suck the Blood of Their Babies

In the forests of Madagascar lives a group of ants worthy of some Halloween recognition. Ants in the genus Adetomyrma have a gruesome habit of sucking the blood from their own larvae. Brian Fisher, curator of entomology at the California Academy of Sciences, made the unusual discovery in 2001 and dubbed the insects "Dracula ants" for their gory behavior.

Fisher realized his Dracula ants were significant in more ways than one. Unlike other ants, the Dracula ants have a single connection between the thorax and abdomen - a "wasp waist." This morphology suggests the Dracula ants might be the missing evolutionary link between wasps and their descendants, the ants.

And for the record, though queens and workers do drain hemolymph from their larvae to nourish themselves, this cannibalistic activity doesn't actually kill the brood.

Learn more: All Kinds of Ants

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