Ants in the Ant-Man movie, with biological notes Elidiomar R. Da-Silva* & Thiago R. M. de Campos Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. *Email: [email protected] Belonging to the family Formicidae (order passion for ants, which are well characterized in Hymenoptera), ants are cosmopolitan insects, his paintings. Ants are likewise prominent in inhabiting all kinds of terrestrial environments, cartoons, such as Atom Ant (Hanna-Barbera except the arctic, with nearly 10,000 known Productions, 1965–1968) and The Ant and The species. Ants are also social animals, interacting Aardvark (United Artists, 1969–1971), and inside their nests within each caste and each films, like A Bug’s Life (Pixar Animation Studios, role. These worldwide animals are abundant 1998) and Antz (DreamWorks Pictures, 1998). and dominant in each habitat and niche More importantly for us, ants are featured even (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990), being responsible in superhero comics and films. for a huge nectar consumption (amongst other In the present article1, we list all the ant substances acquired from plants), decomposing species shown in the Ant-Man movie (Marvel organic matter (hence helping with the Studios, 2015) and present notes on their ecological recycling of nutrients), as well as biology and distribution. In order to do so, the gathering and transporting seeds (thus helping Blu-ray version of the movie was meticulously plant dispersion) (Levey & Byrne, 1993). watched, observing features such as Artificial systems, such as urban centers, can be morphology and behavior, which were then colonized and exploited by a variety of ant compared to scientific records. species. Overall, around 1% of the species could have a huge impact into anthropogenic THE ANT-MAN activities (Zuben et al., 2004). At least three different characters wore the Ants, among all known insects, are quite Ant-Man suit in the Marvel Universe, all of prominent within our cultural practices, being them somehow connected to the famous super frequently named and personified in fables, hero team, The Avengers. Two of these tales, movies, cartoons and even in more characters, Hank Pym and Scott Lang, appeared conventional works of art (Doré, 1968; Pérez & Almeralla, 2006; Souza, 2009; Castanheira et 1 This article stems from an original presentation as a al., 2015). The prominent Spanish painter poster during the I Colóquio de Zoologia Cultural (2016; Salvador Dalí, for example, had a notorious Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil) and its abstract, published on the event’s proceedings (Coelho & Da-Silva, 2016). Journal of Geek Studies 4(2): 21–30. 2017. 21 Da-Silva, E.R. & de Campos, T.R.M. in the 2015 movie. The hero’s power comes becoming a hero in his own right. The third Ant- from the so-called Pym particles, a fictional Man was Eric O’Grady, an official from the substance that allows him to change and group called S.H.I.E.L.D. (DeFalco et al., 2009). manipulate his size and strengthen his muscles, and a helmet that gives him full control of (and THE MOVIE communication with) insects, especially ants. Ant-Man is an American movie based on the comics, where Scott Lang receives a special suit that allows him to change the size of matter by manipulating the distance between atoms. It is the 12th movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, the movie was directed by Peyton Reed and a tremendous success, grossing over 500 million dollars. Figure 1. Cover of The Avengers #1 (September, 1964; art by Jack Kirby). Source: Wikimedia Commons. Doctor Henry “Hank” Pym was the first Ant- Man, the inventor of the Pym particles, and one of the founders of The Avengers team, alongside Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and Wasp (Fig. 1). Scott Lang was the second man to wear the suit, at first only to save his daughter Cassie Lang from a kidnapper, but afterwards Figure 2. Promotional poster of the Ant-Man movie. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Journal of Geek Studies 4(2): 21–30. 2017. 22 Ants in the Ant-Man movie THE ANTS ant (Solenopsis geminata). These species are Four species are featured in the movie (Fig. presented below in the typical manner of 3): the crazy ant (Paratrechina longicornis); the formal biological classification, with comments bullet ant (Paraponera clavata); the carpenter telling a little more about their biology and ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus); and the fire discussing how they are depicted in the movie. Figure 3. Scene from Ant-Man showing ant farms with the four different species. Family Formicidae in degraded areas, sometimes being dominant Subfamily Formicinae in this habitat (Wetterer et al., 1999). The Tribe Plagiolepidini movie mentions their well-known swiftness and Genus Paratrechina Motschulsky, 1863 dexterity, besides the fact that they can Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802) conduct electricity. We could not find anything (Figs. 4, 9A) proving the veracity about electrical conductivity in these ants (at least, nothing that Paratrechina longicornis are pantropical would set them apart from all other animals), insects (that is, distributed across the tropics), however, there are records of ants that are so also present in urban areas and a remarkable attracted by electricity that they can damage agricultural pest (Witte et al., 2007; Ward, wiring and electronic devices, such as 2013). Its common name, crazy ant, is due to its computers and televisions (Slowik et al., 1996; swiftness and agitated behavior. Because of Ball, 2008; Readhead, 2014). their opportunistic behavior, they are present Journal of Geek Studies 4(2): 21–30. 2017. 23 Da-Silva, E.R. & de Campos, T.R.M. Figure 4. Scenes from the Ant-Man movie featuring crazy ants. Family Formicidae buildings. This is likely the root of their Subfamily Formicinae common name. Nests are usually built in Tribe Camponotini rotten, decayed wood, although some nests Genus Camponotus Mayr, 1861 may extend into sound heartwood in the center Camponotus pennsylvanicus (De Geer, 1773) of the tree (ISU Extension and Outreach, 2017). (Figs. 5, 9B) Camponotus pennylvanicus is widely distributed along the Nearctic region (the Species of the genus Camponotus are region from Greenland to the Mexican cosmopolitan and habitat-dominant organisms highlands), with a few records from the (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990), being the most Neotropical region (the remainder of the representative group inside their subfamily. Americas), setting up the canopy mosaic due to Carpenter ants construct their nests in wood, its twig-nesting behavior (Ward, 2013). In the such as hollow trees, stumps, logs, posts, movie, it is mentioned that carpenter ants have landscaping timbers, and the lumber used in good movement and flight capacity. Figure 5. Scenes from the Ant-Man movie featuring carpenter ants. Journal of Geek Studies 4(2): 21–30. 2017. 24 Ants in the Ant-Man movie Family Formicidae another species S. germinata (Ghosh et al., Subfamily Myrmicinae 2005). Tribe Solenopsidini However, it is notoriously difficult to Genus Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 differentiate species within the genus Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius, 1804) Solenopsis (Cuezzo & Fernández, 2015). As (Figs. 6, 7, 9C) such, it is possible that the species shown in the movie could be S. invicta Buren, 1972, an exotic Ants of the genus Solenopsis are commonly species introduced in North-American territory. named fire ants due to their painful sting. They This species originally inhabits flooding grounds are also considered a cosmopolitan insect pest of the Amazon biome, where the colony can in urban areas and the countryside, foraging aggregate in a boat-shaped way and migrate to and nesting on the ground (Wetterer, 2011; other areas through the water, like a rafting Ward, 2013). The species is identified in the boat (Haight, 2006). In the movie, it is said that movie as S. mandibularis Westwood, 1840, fire ants are excellent builders, showing the which is presently considered a synonym of boat-shaped aggregation (Fig. 7). Figure 6. Scenes from the Ant-Man movie featuring fire ants. Family Formicidae Subfamily Paraponerinae Tribe Paraponerini Genus Paraponera F. Smith, 1858 Paraponera clavata (Fabricius, 1775) (Figs. 8, 9D) This species is also known as the bullet ant Figure 7. Scene from the Ant-Man movie where the fire ants build a raft to carry the hero. due to its strong and painful sting. They are arboreal (but ground-nesting), medium-sized ants with variable behavior depending on the Journal of Geek Studies 4(2): 21–30. 2017. 25 Da-Silva, E.R. & de Campos, T.R.M. habitat they live in (they are spread all around et al., 1996). Brazilian indigenous peoples use the Neotropical region). There are several these ants in rites of passage for teenage boys, studies about their omnivorous feeding who are submitted to the ants’ bites (Costa behavior, foraging throughout the canopy Neto, 2005). In the movie, they mention that (Fewell et al., 1996; Ward, 2013). They feed on the bullet ant sting is one of the most painful nectar, however, they prefer animal resources, there is. specially other insects, when available (Fewell Figure 8. Scenes from the Ant-Man movie featuring bullet ants. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS the encounter. In the battle taking place at The Ant-Man movie shows quite a few Yellow Jacket’s facility, fire-ants conducted Ant- interesting set of elements, which could be Man through the plumbing, the crazy-ants were appreciated by the scientific community, responsible for damaging the electronic circuit, entomologists and, especially, myrmecologists the bullet-ants attacked Yellow Jacket’s thugs (researchers who study ants). Ants have a key and the carpenter-ants provided air support. In role in the plot, being active and helping the addition, the respective size of the ants was leading figure in most situations.