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The social structure of ants cannot but amaze: not only are there females, males, and workers among them, but there are also species that contain slaves in their nest, who, being larvae, were taken captive from another anthill. True, these slaves perform the same functions that they would do in their nest, only they take care of the descendants of a foreign species, not their own.
Despite the fact that absolutely all types of ants are predators, they not only catch or pick up prey, but also grow mushrooms, keep livestock, which is aphid, and are the only creatures in the world, with the exception of humans, conducting agricultural activities.
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Ants have a caste system in which responsibilities are divided. Thus, the queen is the founder of the colony and her role is only to lay eggs.
All worker ants, as in the case of bees, are female. They take care of the queen, the offspring, look for food, protect the colony and dispose of waste.
The fate of the future queen depends only on how she will be fed in the larval stage. If the larva is given a lot of protein, then it will become a queen in the future. If you feed less squirrel, it will become an ordinary worker ant.
These hardworking insects
Black, red, red ants belong to a family of insects that belongs to the superfamily Antidae from the order Hymenoptera, which also includes wasps, bees, ichneumon wasps, sawflies and gall moths. In total, there are more than 13 thousand species of ants, most of which live in tropical latitudes (for comparison: 1,150 species live in the Palearctic, about three hundred in Russia).
The number of this family, according to various sources, ranges from 10 to 25% of the biomass of all terrestrial creatures. True, their weight is extremely small. For example, in the Amazon forests there are 800 million ants per square kilometer, while in total all forest ants weigh half as much as the rest of the inhabitants of the area.
Red, black and red ants are distributed throughout the world. It is worth noting that not only forest and garden ants, but also ants in the house are a common occurrence. They are not found except in cold Antarctica and several islands located far from the continent.
Interesting facts about raccoons91354.714
Insects build anthills wherever they can, using mainly soil and plants for construction. Their nests can be seen everywhere: on the ground, under stones, in logs, underground; if they happen to settle in a house, they can build an anthill there too. An anthill should never be built in areas with dead insects, as this indicates the presence of disease or other danger.
Such good adaptability is largely due to excellent social organization, the ability to use various resources and maneuverability in their life: if necessary, they will easily change their place of residence.
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Once the queen has created a colony, her work is not complete. She continues to lay eggs, thereby maintaining the existence of the colony. The lifespan of the uterus in some cases can reach 30 years. As for workers (women), their life expectancy can reach a year. Male ants are the least fortunate. Their lifespan rarely exceeds 1 week.
Description
In nature there are yellow, red, black, red ants, and many of them are not monochromatic, and combine these colors in their coloring.
Speaking about the ant, it should be borne in mind that depending on the species, its size can range from 1 to 50 mm and even more.
Red ants from the genus Mohomorium are considered the smallest: the length of working individuals is 1-2 mm, females and males - from 23 to 4 mm. As for the largest representatives, for example, African males of Dorylus can reach 3 cm, and the uterus during the maturation of eggs, due to a greatly enlarged abdomen, reaches five centimeters.
Despite the fact that ants' vision is poorly developed (and some are completely blind), they distinguish vibrations and movement very well. Their vision is successfully replaced by antennae located on the head, which detect chemicals, sense the movement of air masses, and, in addition, with their help, insects transmit and receive signals through touch.
The upper jaws (mandibles) of ants are so strong that they successfully use them to carry food, manipulate various objects, build an anthill and successfully defend themselves. Interestingly, in some species these jaws open 270° and snap shut like traps at speeds of up to 230 km/h.
The Queen can live up to 30 years
Many scientists believe that anthills are similar to human cities. Each such place has its own distribution of responsibilities.
“Soldier” ants protect the queen (the queen of all ants), as well as other insects from enemies. Simple “workers” are laying out the housing and expanding it. Others simply collect food.
It is worth noting that ants can unite as one to save their queen. Surprisingly, the female has nothing to do with the name. Her duty, which she firmly fulfills, is reproduction and nothing more.
The queen can live much longer than her subordinates who live with her under the “same roof.” Queen ants can live up to 30 years .
The largest colony covers an area of 6 thousand km2
Argentine ants live in Europe, as well as the United States, and form a huge colony. It is known as the world's largest ant colony. Its territory covers 6 thousand km2 . But, to the surprise of many, it was created by a man.
Initially, this species was found only in South America, but thanks to people it has spread everywhere. Argentine ants have previously created large colonies. But this species is considered a parasite, as it brings great discomfort to animals and crops.
The ants are all friendly towards each other, which is why they can calmly be nearby. Their colonies can stretch up to several tens of kilometers.
Pheromones in the life of insects
An important role in the life of insects is played by glands that secrete various substances; with the help of some, for example, pheromones, they communicate. For example, foragers fix the food they discover with the help of pheromones, and mark the road until all the food ends up in the anthill (as soon as this happens, they stop marking the road with pheromones, and the smell dissipates).
This method allows the ants to cope with unexpected obstacles: if an obstacle suddenly appears on the way, the foragers begin their work. Having found a new path, they mark the road to the anthill, and its relatives begin their journey along the laid route.
Another interesting fact about the ant is its ability, with the help of pheromones, to communicate about the family during the exchange of food (what it currently needs, for example, what kind of food or the need for work in the nest).
Also speaking about the ant, it should be borne in mind that each of them has glands that they use for defense and attack (they are poisonous and almost all species have a sting). For example, some glands produce an acidic secretion, while many of the poisons they produce are characterized by the presence of complex compounds in combination with allergenic proteins. If a black worker ant finds itself in trouble, in order to protect the nest, it commits suicide: as a result of a specific muscle contraction, its abdomen ruptures and the secretion of the gland, which contains substances that glue the enemy, is sprayed out in all directions.
Physical signals
Naturally, insects can communicate with each other not only with the help of pheromones, but also with sounds (some species chirp using abdominal segments), as well as touches (for example, begging for food). There are two opposing opinions: some scientists are convinced that they are absolutely deaf, others categorically disagree with this.
However, it is known for sure that insects sense the vibration of solid bodies very well, and some species definitely make sounds while at the pupal stage. For example, a black ant that has not yet been born communicates its social status to working nannies.
Nutrition
It can be said about ants that almost all of them are predators, scavengers, and also feed on plant foods (adults eat carbohydrate foods, larvae eat protein foods). They find food not only on the ground, but also an ant on a tree in search of food is a common occurrence. For protein food, they eat invertebrates, mainly insects: they pick up corpses, hunt and even raise livestock (aphids).
They get carbohydrate food from honeydew: it is given to them in abundance by their cattle and aphids (except that aphids secrete a special liquid, which red, red and black ants eat with pleasure, and the aphids themselves act as meat). They also feed on seeds, plant sap, nectar, and mushrooms (they often grow the mushrooms they need on their own).
They take all the prey to the anthill, where they distribute it among themselves (they never eat on the side). There are species that have a process in the esophagus, nicknamed the “social stomach”: in it, insects store food during transportation, and, having delivered it to the place, remove it, and then distribute it among the ants.
How does an anthill work?
Ants are social insects and their life activity is somewhat reminiscent of human life, where society consists of people of various professions.
Their home (anthill) has a unique structure, which only the mind can do. For example:
- Ants are engineers and builders who form their nest through tunnels and other communications.
- In the society of ants, there are soldiers who protect the anthill from attacks by natural enemies, and also help to capture other territories.
- Doctor ants monitor the health of working individuals and also perform operations, relieving individuals of injured legs.
- Nurse ants control the development of larvae.
- Foraging ants are busy collecting and storing food, distributing it into special storage areas.
- Farmer ants are busy breeding aphids, cicadas, copperheads and scale insects. They look after them and also “milk” them, obtaining a tasty liquid.
- Leaf-cutter ants are busy collecting and identifying leaves, after which colonies of fungi grow from them. There are also ants - fungal growers, who use both insects and feces to grow mushrooms.
- Harvester ants are busy collecting seeds from various plants.
- Carpenter ants are busy collecting juices secreted by various plants.
- Gravedigger ants practice moving their deceased relatives to a place that can be called a cemetery.
- These are not all professions that allow an ant colony to survive in natural conditions.
They form “living bridges” from their bodies to overcome obstacles
An amazing fact remains that many species of ants are capable of creating living “bridges” from their own bodies . This helps them cross a river or pond. These include a genus of ants called Eciton.
Once upon a time, an experiment was conducted at one of the universities that proved that some species are even capable of sacrificing themselves for the sake of other brothers.
Capable of taking “prisoners” and forcing them to work for themselves
Not many people know that in the northeastern United States there are species of ants that constantly raid other colonies and take them captive .
This species is called Protomognathus americanus. The ants kill all the adults in the colony and then take the larvae and eggs with them. They raise and feed them as if they were their own.
In one colony there can be up to 70 such slaves. Since ancient times they have been leading the image of slave owners. As soon as slave ants begin to emit their peculiar smell, their owners kill them or stop caring for them.
Each ant colony has its own smell
Each ant has its own specific smell . This helps him communicate with other relatives. Each ant family will immediately feel whether it is a stranger next to it or an insider.
Thus, the smell helps insects look for food and warn of impending danger. The same goes for an ant colony. Each of them has its own unique smell. An “alien” will not be able to pass through such barriers.
The species Paraponera clavata is called "bullet ants"
Not many people know about this type of ant called Paraponera clavata. Locals call them "bullet ants" . They received such an unusual nickname because of their poison, which affects humans within 24 hours.
This type of ant lives in Central and South America. They have a very strong poison that it has no equal in strength even to wasps and bees. The insects are only 25 mm long, but their sting is 3.5 mm.
While studying the poison, a paralyzing peptide was discovered. It is worth noting that some ant tribes use it as part of some rituals. These include the initiation of boys.
Children put gloves on their hands that are completely filled with these insects. After receiving a huge dose of poison, temporary paralysis occurs. Sensitivity returns only after a few days.
