In two back-to-back papers published in the journal Ecology, the Kobe University team published that B. subcupularis is pollinated by ants and camel crickets, which visit the plants for their pollen and nectar.

Most ants have two morphologically differentiated adult castes -- queens and workers -- each irreversibly specialized for either reproduction or nonreproductive altruism such as foraging, defense and care of maternal brood.

"I was intrigued by ant trail research that Dr. Karamched shared with me and became interested in pursuing further research on it and creating models based on this previous work."

In their case, the paint contains tiny nanoparticles inspired by the extremely reflective body of the Saharan silver ant – which must naturally cope with baking sunshine.

He described himself as "full of ant" after just a few minutes lying beside the ants' nest as he watched their teamwork in action.