Top 4 Documentaries & Videos on Driver Ants (aka Siafu, Safari)

Here’s a short doc from a teaching assistant at UCLA who visited Kibale National Park in Uganda in February 2009.

They made the 3 min. film using a Pansonic LX-3 point-and-shoot.

40 times larger than the Army ant communities in the tropics of the U.S.

He points out that some driver ants kill tethered cattle by asphixiation (the ants fill their nose and mouth).

“Unattended infants and infirm adults have suffered the same fate”

Watch it on:

3) Driver Ants Eat Duckling

The above video is a time lapse from driver ants eating a duckling in Guinea, West Africa.

The driver ants didn’t kill the duckling. They just came across it in someone’s yard and devoured it.

4) Other Videos of Driver/Siafu/Safari/Driver Ants

Not sure where this 24-second footage is from. But it’s cool to see what Allan Jeffrey calls “Siafu/Safari” ants lined up across the road.

He says he came across it driving but stayed in his vehicle.

Wise man.

And here’s another line of what Dave McPhee (poster on YouTube) calls “Safari Ants”:

Sorry, Dave, call me a wuss but I wouldn’t let my daughter go near that line of ants! 🙂

Some Facts About Driver Ants

Driver Ant (Dorylus) Overview

Driver Ants, also known as Siafu or Safari ants, belong to the genus Dorylus, which includes several species. These ants (all of which are blind) are primarily found in Central and East Africa. Some species extend into West Africa and parts of Asia.

Notable species include Dorylus nigricans and Dorylus wilverthi, which are known for their particularly aggressive swarming behavior. Colonies can be enormous, with estimates of up to 20 million ants per colony.

These colonies are highly organized and capable of migrating vast distances in search of food, making them one of the most formidable predators in their ecosystems.

Driver Ant Queens

The Driver Ant queen is the largest member of the colony and plays a crucial role in reproduction. A typical queen can grow up to 2 inches (5 cm) in length, dwarfing the worker and soldier ants in the colony.

The queen’s primary function is to lay eggs, and she can produce up to 1,000,000 eggs per month, ensuring the constant growth and replenishment of the colony.

he queen is heavily guarded and rarely seen outside of the nest, which is typically located deep underground to protect her from predators and environmental dangers.

Size and Strength

Driver Ants are among the largest ants in the world, especially the soldiers, who are equipped with powerful mandibles.

These soldier ants, also known as major workers, can reach lengths of up to 0.5 inches (1.2 cm). Their mandibles are so strong that they can cut through tough materials and are used in some traditional African cultures as makeshift surgical sutures to close wounds by clamping the ant’s jaws on the skin.

The strength and size of these ants allow them to take down prey much larger than themselves, including small vertebrates.

Danger to Humans: Can Driver Ants Kill or Eat a Human?

The danger posed by Driver Ants to humans is a topic of significant concern, particularly in areas where these ants are prevalent.

While Driver Ants are not typically fatal to healthy adults, they have been known to kill vulnerable individuals, such as infants, the elderly, or those incapacitated by illness. Fatalities usually occur when a person is unable to escape a swarm, leading to a condition known as asphyxiation.

The ants can enter the respiratory system, causing suffocation. There have been documented cases of people, especially children, dying from these attacks in remote parts of Africa.

However, the idea that Driver Ants “eat” humans is largely a myth. While they are carnivorous and will consume flesh, their diet primarily consists of smaller prey like insects and small animals.

Habitat and Home

Driver Ants construct their homes in large underground nests that are often found in forests, savannahs, and even agricultural lands across Africa.

These nests are highly complex, with multiple chambers designated for different functions, including housing the queen, raising the brood, and storing food. Driver Ants are nomadic, meaning they frequently relocate their entire colony.

This movement is typically driven by the need to find new food sources, and during these migrations, they form large columns or swarms that can stretch for hundreds of meters.

Their nests can be as deep as 3 meters underground, providing protection from the heat and predators.

Top 5 Foods of Driver Ants

Driver Ants have a diverse diet, which allows them to thrive in various environments:

• Insects: The primary food source for Driver Ants includes a wide variety of insects such as beetles, termites, and caterpillars. They are highly effective at decimating insect populations, which is why they are sometimes referred to as “biological control agents” in agricultural settings.
• Small Vertebrates: Driver Ants are capable of overwhelming small vertebrates such as lizards, frogs, and even small mammals. These animals often fall victim to the ants when they are caught off guard or unable to escape a swarm.
• Worms: Earthworms and other soil-dwelling invertebrates make up a significant portion of their diet. The ants dig through the soil to extract these creatures, which are then consumed or fed to the colony’s larvae.
• Carrion: Driver Ants are scavengers and will consume carrion (dead animals) they encounter during their migrations. This behavior helps in recycling nutrients in the ecosystem.
• Other Ants: Driver Ants are known to attack and consume other ant species. They will raid other ant colonies, capturing and eating their larvae, pupae, and sometimes even adult ants.

Note: Human flesh didn’t make the top 5 of what Driver Ants eat. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Rob Kelly

Chief Maniac, Daily Doc