ABOUT THE COMPOUND HEAT SHIELD OF THE SAHARAN SILVER ANT
The Saharan silver ant (cataglyphis bombycina) is one of the most heat tolerant land animals known. When the midday Saharan sun force the aunt's predators to seek shade, the the ant makes brief forays from its burrow in search of food, which consist of other insects killed by the intense heat. Consider: The silver ant's assets include a compound heat shield made up of a covering of special hairs on the top and sides of its body and a hairless underside. The hairs which give the ant a silvery sheen, are tiny tubes with a triangular cross section. Their two outward facing surfaces have microscopic corrugations that run the length of hair, while the inward-facing surface is smooth. This design serves two functions. First, it enables the hairs to reflect solar radiation in the visible and near-infrared ranges. Second, it helps the ant to dissipate body heat absorbed from the environment. Mean while, the ant's hairless underside reflects radiation that is in the mid-inf