They seem like something straight out of a horror movie. Ants with huge heads and large jaws that is reminiscent of the creature features of the 50's. Unfortunately for those with deep seated phobias of ants, these giant headed insects are due for a comeback as scientists from McGill University in Canada have recreated these super-soldier ants by using ancient genes to trigger their development in modern day ants.

Super-soldier ants are the elite warriors of the ant kingdom. They have large heads that they use to protect the colony by blocking the entrance to the nest with their heads. The super-soldier's large head could also be used to grind the large seeds that worker ants bring in to the colony. Yet despite their tactical advantages, super-soldier ants are rarely found in the wild. So it was a surprise when scientists discovered eight specimens in a wild colony of P. morrisi ants. What's even more surprising is that species of ants haven't been observed producing the super-soldier version of warrior ants. After analysis, the researchers discovered that these ants developed the potential for super-soldier ants around 35 to 60 million years ago.

"It's been known for a long time that these kinds of slips occur, and they are viewed as the Barnum and Bailey of evolution," said the study's senior researcher Ehad Abouheif, Canada research chair in evolutionary developmental biology at McGill University. "What we are showing for the first time is there is this ancestral potential sitting there, and when poked by the environment it can really unleash this potential that can power evolution."

Super-soldier ants are normally found in eight other ant species normally found in northern Mexico and the American Southwest. By studying these species the researchers were able to find out why some ants are born to be super-soldiers. An ant's role in the colony is determined by environmental switches. Adult ants determine the larvae's development by applying certain hormones to the growing ants. The scientists applied a chemical that pushed the larvae to become super-soldiers.

The findings indicate that super-soldier ants evolved for a common ancestor for the different ant species that have the genetic ability to make this special caste.