Tropical ants build and set a trap that resembles a medieval torture rack. They use this ingenious setup to capture insect prey much larger than themselves, then rip the victim apart.

These ants have transformed the characteristic ant zeal for teamwork into something macabre. Azteca brevis ants build and set a trap not unlike a medieval torture device, which is used to cooperatively capture and rip apart insect prey.

Lead author Markus Schmidt first came across Azteca brevis ants in Costa Rica’s Piedras Blancas National Park …