How silver ants withstand the heat of the desert

There is a species of ants, the silver ants of the Sahara, which possess a peculiar adaptation to protect themselves from the desert heat. They are covered in a mantle of silvery hairs, whose triangular rather than spherical cross-section makes them prisms capable of reflecting more than 90% of the light that reaches them. Hence, their metallic color and shininess.

They are also capable of synthesizing heat shock proteins, which repair heat damage. These are present in all animals, but only silver ants can produce them purposefully before exposing themselves to light, rather than after damage has been done as in other species.

This makes them able to survive temperatures as high as 54 degrees.

Another feature is that, in order to move quickly on the hot surface, they are among the fastest animals in proportion to their size, as well as the only invertebrates with a quadrupedal gait, since they keep their front legs raised when they run.