Simulated biomechanical performance of morphologically disparate ant mandibles under bite loading.

ABSTRACT: Insects evolved various modifications to their mouthparts, allowing for a broad exploration of feeding modes. In ants, workers perform non-reproductive tasks like excavation, food processing, and juvenile care, relying heavily on their mandibles. Given the importance of biting for ant workers and the significant mandible morphological diversity across species, it is essential to understand how mandible shape influences its mechanical responses to bite loading. We employed Finite Element Analysis to simulate biting scenarios on mandible volumetric models from 25 ant species classified in different feeding habits. We hypothesize that mandibles of predatory ants, especially trap-jaw ants, would perform better than mandibles of omnivorous species due to their necessity to subdue living prey. W

SUBMITTER: Klunk CL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10558566 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature