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• A species of weaver ant found from India to northern Australia
(Oecophylla smaragdina) makes its nests by curling leaves into loops.
The leaves, however, are too stiff for any single ant to accomplish this feat. To solve this problem, the ants form a chain of up to 17 individuals. Using their mandibles, each ant grabs the abdomen of the previous ant, and they all pull together to bend the leaves. Using this tug-of-war strategy, the ants are able to pull up to 100 times their individual body weight (New Scientist, 23 August, 2025).