And to think that something so tiny can have such a survival strategy! When danger approaches, this little creature has a trick that seems straight out of a cartoon 🐜
It is *Myrmecina graminicola*, an ant species just 3 millimeters long that lives mainly in Europe, North Africa, and some parts of Asia. Although it normally prefers to stay still to avoid being noticed, when conditions allow, it uses a rather unusual technique.
When it finds itself on a slope, it tucks in its antennae, curls its body into a little ball, and pushes off with its legs to roll downhill. And it’s not exactly slow! Researchers found that it can reach a speed of almost 40 centimeters per second, about 80 times faster than it can walk.
The behavior was documented in a study published in 2020 in the scientific journal *Scientific Reports*, whose experiments showed that this technique considerably reduces the risk of injury during attacks by other ants.
The most curious thing is that it doesn’t roll simply because it loses its balance. Researchers found that it chooses to use this strategy when it senses a threat and finds a suitable slope. Quite an ingenious escape for an insect that’s smaller than a grain of rice.