A new species of creepy ants has been named in honor of Voldemort

A team from the University of Western Australia, led by Dr. Mark Wong, discovered a new and unusual ant species while exploring in Australia’s arid Pilbara region. They drilled a 25-meter deep borehole to study the underground world in the area. Special nets are lowered into such boreholes, which, when lifted, “scrape” all living creatures off the walls so that they can be familiarized with them.

So far we have only managed to find two specimens of the new ant, and this is a minor miracle because they are only 2mm long, very pale and have bizarre thin limbs. These insects are blind, they never leave the bowels of the earth, and there is speculation that they live and move through crevices and air pockets. For its similarity to the main antagonist of the Harry Potter saga, the ant is named Leptanilla voldemort.

Based on the general knowledge of Leptanilla ants and analyzing the anatomy of the find, scientists assumed that this is a very formidable predator. The ant’s jaws are too powerful for its slender body, and it is unlikely to specialize in building and tunneling. Most likely, the Voldemort Ant immobilizes large millipedes with strong bites, and then brings its larvae to their bodies to feed on. They can hardly drag the millipedes themselves through the narrow tunnels underground.