How can ants walk along any surface without falling off?

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Like why can they walk on the ceiling and just chill?

In: Biology

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If you had the strength to carry 10x your own body weight, dont you think youd be able to grip brick walls and whatnot?

Anonymous 0 Comments

Even some polished surfaces are not entirely smooth. They have microscopic ridges and fissures that are only visible under extremely high magnification. You will find that ants have difficulty walking on glass or particularly non-stick or frictionless surfaces.

[Ant claws](http://blog-rkp.kellerperez.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/oecophylla-smaragdina-claws.jpg) are actually covered in tiny hairs that help them hook into surface irregularities using friction, almost like velcro. For certain species, there is a special part of the leg called the arolium (in yellow in the image), which can unfold and almost act like a suction cup for the smoothest of surfaces.