Ant nest beetle secretions on their antennae and body allow them to interact with ant workers. It is believed that the beetles use an acoustic mechanism to successfully imitate the sounds of an ant queen thus permitting them access to the nest without alarming the ants. The defensive bombardier behaviour is never used against ants. Males of some species are attracted to lights during some parts of the season and are thought to disperse from one ant nest to another. Males are thought to be short-lived. These beetles feed on ant eggs, larvae and adults by piercing their mandibles into the abdomen or
The Electric Ant The Electric Ant "The Electric Ant" is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in "Fantasy and Science Fiction" magazine in October 1969. Garson Poole wakes up after a flying-car-crash to find that he is missing a hand. He then finds out that he is an 'electric ant' an "organic" robot. He further finds out that what he believes is his subjective reality is being fed to him from a micro-punched tape in his chest cavity. He experiments on this tape by adding new holes, which adds things to his reality. Convinced