Global eye
An ant
up close
© Getty
This is a coloured scanning electron microscope (SEM) image of the head of an ant, from the family Formicidae, grasping a stem with its powerful mandibles. Ants use these mandibles to cut and carry food, when constructing nests and as a defensive tool against potential threats to their colony. Researchers have discovered that some ants can generate forces from their mandible grip that are in excess of 300 times their own body weight.