The inhabitants of the anthill are divided into 4 groups:
- Females (queens)
are the founders of any ant house; their function is to lay eggs. There is only one female queen in the colony, which the ants carefully protect, feed and nurture. - Males.
They die some time after mating (their main function). - Worker ants
(foragers). Their responsibilities include caring for all members of the family, delivering food and protecting the anthill from attacks by enemies. - Larvae.
Future offspring. Larvae are divided into 2 types: those that can feed on their own and those that require feeding. The latter species predominates; adult ants feed such larvae with semi-digested food from their own esophagus.
This entire large family needs huge amounts of food. What do ants eat?
Oral apparatus
The mouthparts of these insects are “gnawing”.
The mouth contains:
- upper lip (labrum)
; - labia inferior (labium)
; - mandibles (jaws)
.
Depending on the species, the upper jaws (mandibles)
and the lower ones
(maxillae) can be:
large and small, blunt and very sharp, with teeth and simply smooth, closing and overlapping. The mandibles have the ability to work independently even with the mouth closed.
The lower lip has a uvula, which is an organ of taste.
and is also used by ants to clean their bodies.
Links[edit]
- Richards, O.W.; Davis, R.G. (1977). Imms General Textbook of Entomology: Volume 1: Structure, Physiology and Development
.
Berlin: Springer. ISBN 0-412-61390-5.[ page required
] - ↑
Head, jaws and unusual lip of a dragonfly nymph (bottom view) [
unreliable source?
] - Mouthparts of insects
- Insect mouthparts – Amateur Entomologists Society (AES)
- Structure and functions of the oral apparatus of insects
- "Hymenoptera: ants, bees and wasps", CSIRO
, retrieved 8 April 2012 - Heppner, John B. Richman, David B; Naranjo, Stephen E; Habeck, Dale; Asaro, Christopher; Boev, Jean-Luc; Baumgaertner, Johann; Schneider, David S; Lambdin, Paris; Cave, Ronald D. Ratcliffe, Brett K.; Heppner, John B. Baldwin, Rebecca W.; Scherer, Clay W; Frank, J. Howard; Dunford, James S; Somme, Louis A; Richman, David. B; Krafsur, E. S.; Crooker, Allen; Heppner, John B. Capinera, John L; Menalled, Fabian D; Liebman, Matt; Capinera, John L; Turquoise, Peter E. A; Hoy, Marjorie A.; Lloyd, James E; Siwinski, John; and others. (2008). "Silkworm Moth (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae)". Encyclopedia of Entomology
. pp. 3375–6. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_4198. ISBN 978-1-4020-6242-1. - Walter Reuther (1989). The Citrus Industry: Crop Protection, Postharvest Technologies, and the Early History of Citrus Research in California. UCANR Publications. P. 64–. ISBN 978-0-931876-87-5.
- Mehlhorn, Heinz (2001). Encyclopedic reference book of parasitology: biology, structure, functions. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 310. ISBN 978-3-540-66819-0.
Food
Ants are omnivorous insects.
Their diet depends on the species and habitat.
During the warm season, food supply is carried out by worker ants daily. In cold weather, everything happens differently: many species of the ant family do not hibernate, and therefore in the fall they fill their home to capacity with food, this allows them to calmly survive the cold season.
REFERENCE!
Ants love to drag into their home absolutely everything that gets in their way. And only then the food is distributed among the inhabitants of the anthill. To everyone's taste.
The distribution goes as follows:
- larvae.
They feed on protein foods: the remains of small insects, eggs of various pests. If we are talking about domestic (pharaoh) ants, then the larvae often receive food from the table of the owners of the house (meat, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese), sometimes domestic cockroaches, which the younger generation also eats with pleasure, become the prey of the ants; - worker ants.
To maintain strength, they need carbohydrate foods that are nutritious, rich in energy and easily digestible. These are: the pulp of fruits and berries, seeds, nuts, roots and plant juices. Having settled in houses, they happily eat sugar and honey. The favorite delicacy of ants is honeydew (plant juice secreted by them during sudden temperature changes) and honeydew (sugar milk of aphids); - uterus.
The basis of her diet is protein. In many species, food intended for the queen is chewed by worker ants and supplied to their queen in a form convenient for consumption.
REFERENCE!
For red forest ants, honeydew and dew make up almost 60% of the total diet.
They carefully guard aphids (milk cows), breed them on young shoots of trees, and take them with them to anthills for the winter.
Eating
ants
often
, several times a day.
Diet
The ant is omnivorous. Depending on the region of habitat, the insect’s menu is compiled. In summer, working teams of ants deliver food daily in large quantities into the depths of underground storage cells. In winter, some ant species do not hibernate as a whole colony; some need to take care of the nests and repair the walls of the home. Therefore, food warehouses allow active insects to survive until spring while the rest of the family enjoys suspended animation.
Absolutely everything that the foragers come across on the way is dragged into the storerooms. Then the food will be distributed according to needs and tastes.
Larvae . Future ants. They eat semi-digested food from the esophagus of an adult or feed on their own. They need protein food: insect remains, pest eggs. Pets (pharaohs) feed well from the master's table: meat, cottage cheese, cheese, egg crumbs. If there are also cockroaches in the house, then they will also become a good lunch for the growing offspring.
Ants eat depending on their type
There are species of gourmet ants that prefer 1-2 constant products to a varied diet:
- leafcutter ant
. Insects of this species collect tree leaves in their home, carefully chew them into porridge and put them in special chambers. In the warm leaf mass there is a rapid development of fungi, which the leaf cutters feed on. The leaf blades themselves are too rough for their delicate stomachs and are not suitable for consumption; - centromexes.
They feed exclusively on termites; - Dracula.
These ants suck the juice of their own larvae, and the latter do not suffer much from this. Adult insects are engaged in catching large insects: spiders, centipedes, but they do not eat them themselves, but feed the younger generation; - harvester ants.
They feed on the seeds of dried plants. This food is not very digestible, so insects grind it into pulp with their strong jaws; - carpenter ants
. The source of carbohydrate for this species is tree resin, which is released in places where the bark is damaged; - ponerins
. This is a whole subfamily. Each species feeds on a specific insect pest. They are rightly called forest orderlies.
Life of ants: description of colony members
The inhabitants of the ant house are divided into four groups. They are divided into:
- Females (queens) who are the founders of any anthill.
Their main function is laying eggs. In an ant colony there is only one female queen, her ants conscientiously guard, feed and take care of her; - Males that die some time after mating.
Their function is to procreate; - Working ants (foragers), who are obliged to take care of all members of the family, deliver food and protect their home from attacks by enemies;
- Larvae - future offspring.
Interesting facts about ants:
Special jaws help ants save energy while eating
Robert Schofield and his colleagues figured out the secret of the structure of ant teeth: it’s all about a certain arrangement of metal ions.
Read "High-Tech" in
The authors of the new work found that metal ions are evenly distributed in the mandibles: they allow less effort when biting than tooth enamel, in which metals form separate clusters.
The jaws of insects are also called mandibles; they are needed to chew food and defend against attacks.
Additional thickenings and teeth are often located on the anterior edge of the mandibles. These structures are formed by a combination of protein and carbohydrate polymers with abundant inclusion of metals: zinc, as well as manganese, copper, and iron.
The authors of the new work decided to study the structure of ant mandibles in order to later use this information for other useful mechanisms. To establish the atomic structure of ant mandibles, they conducted atom probe tomography. In this case, a thin tip is separated from the sample, which is used as a tip to which high voltage is applied. The disrupted ions are recorded by the detector, allowing the structure of the original sample to be reconstructed with atomic precision.
As a result, it turned out that zinc ions in the mandibles of ants are distributed almost evenly and are very tightly bound to the amino acid residues of neighboring proteins.
It is this structure that allows maintaining a clear shape of the surface of ant mandibles. This structural feature allows you to apply almost two-thirds less effort to chew pieces of food, compared, for example, with human tooth enamel.
Source
Oral apparatus
Ants have gnawing mouthparts. It consists of:
- Upper lip (labrum);
- Lower lip (labium);
- Mandibles (jaws).
The types of upper (mandibles) and lower (maxillae) jaws depend on the type of ant:
REFERENCE:
The jaws can work independently even if the mouth is closed. The lower lip has a uvula, which serves as a taste organ, and is used by insects to cleanse their bodies.
- Big or small;
- Dull or very sharp;
- Whether there are teeth or not;
- Interlocking or bridging.
List of names of ant body parts found in Russian-language literature.
List of names of ant body parts.
Abdomen - see abdomen. Antenna - see antenna. Arolium - found in some ants on the tips of their paws between the claws. Acidopora is the exit of a poisonous gland at the tip of the abdomen, usually elongated into a tube surrounded by a corolla of hairs. The thigh is part of the leg. Abdomen (abdomen) - can be round, elongated, heart-shaped. The upper plates of the abdomen are called tergites, the lower ones are called sternites. Tergites have spiracle openings. Trochanter is a small segment of the leg between the coxa (coxa) and the thigh. The upper lip is part of the ant's oral apparatus. The volsella is part of the male's external genitalia. Galea is part of the ant's mouthparts. Genitals are the external genitalia of the male. The eyes are the compound compound eyes of an ant. There are two of them. Usually consist of many facets. In some species they may consist of only a few facets. There are species of ants that have no eyes at all. The ocelli are simple ocelli of one facet. There are three of them. In some species, only sexual individuals have them. Some species do not have them. The shin is part of the leg. Head - consists of a head capsule containing eyes and simple ocelli (if any), antennae and mouthparts. Attached to the chest. The chest (mesosoma) is the central part of the ant’s body. Gular plate - a plate on the underside of the head between the mandibles. In American literature, the entire lower surface of the head is often referred to as the gula. Mandibles (mandibles) - upper jaws, often massive, in the form of wide plates, with a large number of teeth on the chewing edge, with a convex outer and concave inner edge, less often saber-shaped without teeth. The metanotum is part of the thorax. Well distinguishable in females and males. In working specimens it is fused with the epinotum. The back of the head is the area of the head from the crown to the occipital foramen. The occipital edge of the head is the posterior edge of the head when looking at it directly from above. The cardo is part of the ant's mouthparts. Clypeus - see clypeus. Coxa (coxa) – the upper part of the leg. Copulatory apparatus - see genitals Paw - the lower part of the leg. Consists of five segments. The first segment is the longest. There are two claws at the end of the paw. Lacinia is part of the ant's mouthparts. The forehead is a part of the head without a clear boundary. It is located between the frontal ridges, bordering on the cheeks on the sides and the crown on top. The frontal sulcus is a groove extending upward from the frontal area. It can be long (up to the front eye), short or absent. Frontal ridges are grooves that can be straight or curved, parallel or diverging to the sides, long or short. In some species the frontal ridges are very short or not at all expressed. The frontal plate (frontal triangle) is a triangular plate between the antennae above the clypeus. Maxillae are part of the ant's mouthparts. Mandibles - see mandibles. Mesopleura - the sides of the mesothorax in working individuals. Mesonotum - see mesonotum. Mesosoma - see chest. Metapleural glands are paired glands that secrete antibiotic substances, and sometimes also alarm pheromones and repellents to protect against enemies. Metasoma – stalk and abdomen taken together. Metanotum - see metanotum. Clypeus (clypeus) - is a square, triangular, semicircular or trapezoidal plate. The anterior edge of the clypeus is straight, slightly convex or concave, sometimes with a notch in the middle or with denticles on the sides; the posterior margin is angular. The surface of the clypeus is often convex, less often with a longitudinal keel, sometimes with several longitudinal ridges or transverse depression. On the sides of the clypeus in the upper part there are clypeus pits. The lower lip is part of the ant's oral apparatus. Consists of a lorum, a prementum with a pair of labial palps, paraglossae and a uvula formed by fused glossae. The mandibular palps are part of the ant's oral apparatus. Pronotum (pronotum) is the front part of the ant's chest. Pleurite (mesopleura) is part of the chest. Pronotum - see pronotum. Propodeum (epinotum) - the back of the chest. Propodeal spiracles - paired spiracles on the propodeum (epinotum). Psammophore is a special device for carrying dry soil, common among desert ants. Formed by long erect hairs (ammochaetes) located on the lower surface of the head. Pterostigma is a thickening at the leading edge of the wing. The sagitta is part of the external genitalia of the male. Sensillae are erect hairs on the last antennal segments. They are organs of touch. The squamula is part of the male's external genitalia. Scutellum - part of the chest of females and males Scutum - part of the chest of females and males Mesothoracic spiracles - paired spiracles located on the mesopropodeal suture. The mesonotum (mesonotum) is part of the chest. Petiolus - consists of one segment (petiolus) or two segments (petiolus and postpetiolus). If it consists of one segment, it often develops into a transverse lobe, called a scale. The scale can be vertical or inclined forward. Less commonly, the petiolus may be cylindrical (Tapinoma) or nodular (some Cataglyphis). On the contrary, in species with a 2-segmented stalk the shape of the petiolus is most often nodular, with a developed node of various shapes and, as a rule, an elongated anterior cylindrical part, less often cylindrical (Myrmecina). The postpetiolus in these species is more or less spherical in shape. The prothorax sternite is part of the chest. The mesothorax sternite is part of the chest. Stipes is part of the oral or genital (copulatory) apparatus of an ant. The subgenital plate is part of the external genitalia of the male. Basin - see coke. The crown is the surface of the head immediately behind the ocelli. Behind the crown of the head to the foramen magnum is the occiput. The antennae (antenna) is geniculate in ants. The antenna consists of a handle (scape) and a flagellum. The last segments of the flagellum in some species are enlarged and form a club. Antennae pits are depressions at the edge of the clypeus. Place of attachment of antennae. The cervical region is formed by the fusion of the cervical sclerites and pleurites of the prothorax. Movably articulates with the pronotum. A spur is a protrusion on the lower leg. The cheek is the area of the head from the lower edge of the eyes to the attachment point of the mandibles (mandibles). Epimera - the lateral parts of the chest of females and males. Epinotum - see propodeum. Episternum - the lateral parts of the chest of females and males.
What do ants eat?
Ants are omnivorous insects. Their food preferences are determined by their species and habitat. During the warm season, food is supplied by foragers every day. With the onset of cold weather, everything changes: most species of the ant family do not hibernate, so in the autumn they stock up on food to capacity. This will allow them to easily survive the cold period.
REFERENCE:
Insects drag almost everything they encounter along the way into their anthill.
Ants eat depending on their type
In the anthill, food is distributed among the inhabitants. Food is distributed as follows:
- The larvae get protein food: the remains of small insects, eggs of various pests;
REFERENCE:
The larvae of domestic ants (pharaoh ants) often get food from the owner’s table (meat, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese), and the growing offspring do not hesitate to eat Prussian cockroaches.
- To maintain strength, working ants need to eat carbohydrate foods that are rich in energy and highly digestible. They feed on the pulp of fruits and berries, seeds, nuts, roots and plant juice. If they live in a person’s house, they feast on sugar and honey. Desserts of ants include honeydew (the sap of a plant, which it secretes when sudden changes in temperature occur) and honeydew (the sugar milk of aphids);
- The basis of the uterus' diet is protein.
Food is delivered to her in chewed form.
REFERENCE:
The diet of forest ants consists of almost 60% honeydew and dew. They carefully guard their milk cow, breed it, and take it to an anthill for the winter.
How often do they eat or what do they eat in winter?
Ants are quite mobile and agile insects. They have something like a brain, since they are able to lead a social lifestyle. They eat several times a day. Working ants search for and deliver food to the home, which they also eat. Those in the anthill eat the collected supplies.
REFERENCE:
These insects can exist for a long period without food in winter, but only if they are hypothermic.
Ants that live in northern Russia remain in suspended animation for almost 9 months without food. Most species do not hibernate in winter and continue to be active. They feed on pre-collected supplies.
Sponge insects [edit]
Proboscis fly ( Gonia capitata
): note the prominent labial palps.
Labellum [edit]
The fly is a typical insect rub. The surface of the labellum is covered with tiny food channels formed by interconnected elongated hypopharynx and epipharynx, forming a proboscis used to direct liquid food into the esophagus. The alimentary canal draws liquid and liquefied food into the esophagus through capillary action. A housefly can eat solid food by secreting saliva and blotting the food with it. When saliva dissolves food, the solution is drawn into the mouth as a liquid. [9]
Examples of narrow food specialization
Some species of these insects are real gourmets and prefer some of their favorite dishes instead of a varied diet:
- Leaf cutters store tree leaves, which they chew in advance into a pulp.
The fungus develops quite quickly in it, and leaf cutters feed on it. They do not swallow leaves, since their stomachs are delicate enough for coarse fiber; - Centromyrmex eat only termites, without consuming other food;
- Each of the ponerine subfamily feeds on its favorite insect pest;
- Draculas drink the juice of their own larvae, which do not suffer at all from such actions.
Adults catch and store large spiders, centipedes and other insects. They form the diet of growing offspring; - Woodworms love resin, which is a source of carbohydrates.
It is released from the tree where the bark is damaged; - Reapers prefer the seeds of dried plants.
In order for them to be perfectly digested, they grind them to a pulp with the help of their strong jaws.
