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Early ants had only two teeth, but most modern ants have more - although some are nearly toothless. Larger workers of "nearly toothless" species may have slight hints of teeth but smaller workers have none. The teeth are made of the same tough stuff as an ant's exoskeleton. They look like, and are, extensions of the mandibles.

Some ants have many sharp teeth to penetrate and hold a soft-bodied, squirmy insect long enough to sting it. But such teeth break when the mandibles snap together on a tough foe like a termite soldier. Ants after hard-bodied prey have blunt teeth, and crush the insect with a blow like a sprung trap from their quick-closing jaws.

An African driver ant can bite with her sharp teeth hard enough to hurt a person badly. In fact, these fierce insects can swarm over a large mammal, and literally slice it to death.

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14y ago

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