World's fastest ants discovered

The world's fastest ants have been discovered in the Sahara desert.

Researchers discovered that Saharan silver ants moved across land at a speed equivalent of 360mph in humans.

At full speed, the insects travelled 108 times their body length per second.

The ants took to the air when they ran, which brought all six legs off the ground at once.

Sarah Pfeiffer - who studies animal behaviour at Ulm University in Germany - said: "They fly through the air with no feet on the ground from stride to stride."

The Saharan silver ants have evolved to be speedy.

They have silvery hairs to reflect the heat because they emerge from their nests when the weather is hottest to scavenge for food.

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