A new species of underground ants was named after Voldemort

In Australia, a previously unknown species of underground ants was named after Voldemort

In Australia, entomologists have named a newly discovered species of ant Leptanilla voldemort after the villain from the popular Harry Potter series of books and films, Voldemort. This is reported by ZooKeys.

Researchers have described this species of underground ant, which they discovered in a deep exploration well in western Australia, 25 meters deep. These insects are distinguished by their small size (about one and a half millimeters in length), long limbs, antennae and jaws, pale yellowish coloration and lack of eyes.

Leptanilla voldemort spend their lives in complete darkness, which, combined with their pale coloring and graceful body shape, reminded scientists of Voldemort. Therefore, they decided to name these insects in honor of the sinister wizard.

According to entomologists, ants from the genus Leptanilla are one of the most exotic and least studied species in the world. They live in small colonies underground and rarely come to the surface.

The diet of these ants consists of underground invertebrates, mainly geophilous centipedes, and adults feed on the hemolymph of the larvae of their own species, which the latter secrete through specialized ducts on their body.