Features of bulldog ants and their way of life

Australia is famous for its diversity of insects. Bulldog ants also live there. These are one of the very first insects on Earth. Such ants are dangerous. They can sting when they sense danger. After the bite, intense and prolonged pain occurs that does not disappear for several days. There is a possibility of severe individual intolerance. If you are in poor health, there is a risk of spontaneous death. The bulldog caste includes females, males and workers. Such representatives are predators and are characterized by aggressive behavior.

Bulldog ants are one of the largest and most dangerous ants.

What are the main characteristics

Bulldogs are large in size. These are one of the largest ants. The length of the body reaches 5 cm. The largest are females. Females are responsible for procreation and the reproduction of new offspring. The body of the insect resembles that of a wasp. The ant has very pronounced jaws. Their length is 0.3 cm. Jaws are also necessary for protection from enemies. You should avoid places where insects accumulate. Otherwise, there is a risk of being bitten.

Like wasps, ants have a sting. This is the main weapon for defense against attack. Approximately 5% of people bitten die as a result of a severe allergic reaction. This occurs due to the appearance of anaphylactic shock.

A person’s allergy appears immediately after the poison enters the bloodstream. The insect got its name due to its ability to move by jumping. In one jump, the ant moves 50-60.

They have a very large lower jaw

Movement is carried out by the jaw. There are serrations on it, which are needed to hold prey. In terms of external characteristics, the insect resembles a wasp that has been left without wings. The incomplete stage of evolution is indicated by the fact that the uterus is 0.5 cm larger.

The insect is distinguished by its ability to lift objects 50 times its own weight. Thanks to this, one representative is able to bring a cockroach or mole cricket into the anthill.

Housing

The black bulldog ant, like the red one, digs well and builds an anthill deep underground. But the dwelling is distinguished by its primitive structure, much inferior to the architecture of its brothers. The colony is small, rarely reaching several thousand individuals. Whereas in other species of ants, the anthill family numbers millions of individuals.

Ants living in the arid climate of Austria require moisture to hatch larvae. For this reason, insects build nests at a depth of several meters.

What are the nutritional features?

Nutrition directly depends on the age of the insect. An adult ant sucks the juices of plants, berries, and fruits. Larvae require protein nutrition. Representatives rarely attack relatives.

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Bulldogs are parasitistic. The female climbs into the home of other ants. The insect destroys the queen and takes her place.

A little about ecology and nutrition: even wasps are afraid of these ants

Bulldog ants dig their own anthill, but their home is simple and primitive, and the anthills are usually very deep. The main distribution area of ​​these species is the arid territories of Australia, but for normal development of the larvae they require moist soil. Actually, to reach moist layers of soil, insects deepen their nests.

Bulldog ants feed their larvae with other insects, but themselves feed mainly on plant nectar, fruit juices and honeydew.

Look, for example, in the photograph, how the larvae of a bulldog ant eat a wasp brought by an adult insect:

Bulldog ants fearlessly attack larger insects and are not at all embarrassed if they have to fight with wasps and spiders (an example of such a battle can be seen in the video at the end of this article).

This is interesting

No matter how dangerous bulldog ants are, much smaller black ants fearlessly attack them and often even destroy bulldog colonies due to their large numbers.

Only a few hundred individuals can live in one colony of bulldog ants, and in exceptional cases - more than a thousand.

Among bulldog ants there is one type of social parasite, the queen of which can penetrate someone else's nest and destroy the true queen. The worker ants then recognize the newcomer as their queen and feed her and her brood until they are completely replaced by the younger generation of another species.

Bull ants do not have developed tropholaxis - the transfer of semi-digested food from one individual to another. Instead, large worker ants are able to lay so-called trophic eggs - a kind of canned protein that is eaten when there is a lack of food.

This is interesting

Most of the working individuals of bulldog ants are gamergates, that is, they are able to mate with males and lay fertilized eggs, which, with proper care, will develop into adult ants. A case was recorded of keeping an anthill in captivity, which existed for three years without a queen, replenished only with ants from gamergate eggs. It is believed that this behavior was characteristic of ancient ants, who were just beginning their journey in improving social behavior.

Where do they live and what is their lifestyle?

Ants choose invertebrates and other insects for food. Unlike other species, the parasite does not eat aphids. Males are not responsible for offspring. The female builds the nest and takes care of the young.

They live in Australia

Insects live in Australia and on some islands. For living, the representative builds underground anthills. The labyrinths of housing go down. Moist soil is selected for propagation. Colonies consist of 80-100 representatives.

Appearance

Representatives of bulldog ants are quite large. The body length of a working individual reaches 30–40 mm. The uterus is even larger - up to 45 mm in length. In addition, the fertile female is distinguished by a slightly expanded thoracic part of the body. The color of insects varies depending on the species. The most common varieties are bright red, brown, red and black.

You can recognize a bulldog insect by its characteristic features:

long well-developed jaws, on the inside of which there are serrations; large convex eyes of black or dark brown color; the presence of a sting.

Differences in body structure and species diversity

The genus of bulldog ants consists of 90 known species of insects, which are divided into 9 species groups and 2 complexes. The unifying feature for each complex is the structural features of the back of the head. The back of the head of representatives of the first 6 groups does not have an occipital carina. These include:

M. cephalotes group;M. aberrans group;M. picta group;M. mandibularis group;M. tepperi group;M. pilosula group.

Another 3 species groups are distinguished by the presence of a developed occipital carina:

M. urens group;M. gulosa group;M. nigrocinta group.

What are the features of reproduction?

Even one mating is enough to reproduce new offspring throughout the entire life cycle. In one anthill there live several fertile females who constantly replenish the colony.

Mating occurs on the fly. It is during the mating season that the representatives begin to develop wings. The males die immediately after fertilization.

To lay eggs, the insect burrows into the ground. This is necessary to select the most suitable place to create a nest. The larvae get out of the nest without outside help. The insect gnaws at the egg. There is a constant need for food. Caterpillars are very voracious.

The larvae feed on food brought by the adults. They do not help the young offspring get out of the cocoon.

Ants carefully protect their eggs

Notes

1. ↑ Brown, William.
   Revisionary notes on the ant genus
   Myrmecia
   of Australia (English) // Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: journal. - Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1953. - Vol. 111, no. 6. - P. 1-35.
2. Johnson, Norman F.
   (link unavailable).
   Hymenoptera Name Server version 1.5
   . Columbus, Ohio, USA: Ohio State University (December 19, 2007). Retrieved April 1, 2015.
3. Striganova B. R., Zakharov A. A.
   Five-language dictionary of animal names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) / . - M.: RUSSO, 2000. - P. 293. - 1060 copies. — ISBN 5-88721-162-8.
4. Matuszek, M. A., Hodgson, W. C., Sutherland, S. K., King, R. G. (1992). Pharmacological studies of jumper ant Myrmecia pilosula venom: evidence for the presence of histamine and haemolytic and eicosanoid-releasing factors. Toxicon. 9: 1081—1091
5. Street, M.D., Donovan, G.R., Baldo, B.A., Sutherland, S. (1994). Immediate allergic reactions to Myrmecia ant stings: immuniochemical analysis of Myrmecia venoms. Clin. Exper. Allergy. 24: 590—597
6. Brown, S. G. A., Franks, R. W., Baldo, B. A., Heddle, R. J. (2003). Prevalence, severity, and natural history of jack jumper ant venom allergy in Tasmania. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 111: 187–192
7. ↑ Steve Shattuck and Natalie Barnett.
   (English).
   Ants Down Under
   . Copyright 2005-2011 CSIRO Australia (www.Anic.ento.csiro.au) (2011). Retrieved July 20, 2011.
8. Richard Harris & Jo Berry.
   (English).
   Information Sheet, Number 15
   . Biosecurity New Zealand (www.Landcareresearch.co.nz). Retrieved July 20, 2011.
9. A. Lima de Faria “Praise of the “stupidity” of the chromosome,” M.: BINOM. Knowledge Laboratory, 2012, P. 209, ISBN 978-5-9963-0148-5
10. ↑, p. 146.
11. ↑. Australian Biological Resources Study: Australian Faunal Directory
    . Canberra: Government of Australia (8 April 2014). Retrieved August 18, 2014.
12. ↑
13. Atkinson, Ann;
    Moore, Alison. Macquarie Australian encyclopedic dictionary (English). — 2nd. - Sydney: Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2010. - P. 914. - ISBN 1-876429-83-6.
14. ↑
15. Shattuck, Steven O.
    Australian Ants: Their Biology and Identification. - Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing (English) Russian, 2000. - Vol. 3. - P. 121. - ISBN 978-0-643-06659-5.
16. , p. 93.

What is the danger to humans?

The main risks are described in the table.

As mentioned earlier, the insect can lead to death as a result of anaphylactic shock.

Often the insect is bred in laboratory conditions. In this way, scientists observe the behavior and development of ants that existed a couple of million years ago.

Phylogeny

Genetic evidence suggests that the genus Myrmecia
diverged from other closely related groups of ants about 100 million years ago. The subfamily Myrmeciinae was discovered in fossil form about 110 million years ago. According to other data, the age of the most modern common ancestor of the genera Myrmecia

and
Nothomyrmecia
about 74 million years ago.
The closest non-ant living relatives of Myrmecia
are found among the Vespoidea wasps.
The following cladogram has been proposed showing the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Myrmecia
:

What is the social organization of the anthill

At the head of the colony is the queen. The main goal of such representatives is the reproduction of new offspring. It differs from worker ants in having a broad chest.

The queen rules the anthill

Worker ants are sterile females. Such representatives are responsible for the construction of anthills, as well as caring for young offspring and the queen herself. Bulldogs hunt alone. Only with excessively large prey will the help of relatives be required.

Not far from the anthill there are two guards. If there is danger, they give a signal to the ants in the nest. Relatives instantly get out and attack the stranger.

Description

The length of working ants is 12-14 mm: females - 14-16, males - 11-12 mm. Almost the entire body is black (head, chest, petiole, postpetiole, abdomen, thighs), mandibles, antennae, tibiae and tarsi are yellow. The antennae consist of 12 segments. Mandibles are long and straight with many teeth. The eyes are large. The head is covered with thin longitudinal grooves, between which there are fine punctures. The head is slightly wider than its length (by about 1/6). The antennal scape extends beyond the occipital margin of the head. The pronotum (twice as long as its width) in the middle bears longitudinal grooves (rounded on the sides), larger and closer together than on the head. Mesonotum and anterior part of epinotum also with longitudinal grooves; posterior part of epinotum (including inclined surface) with transverse grooves. The petiole is 20% wider than its length, and the postpetiole is strongly convex in all directions and almost twice as wide as its length. Postpetiole of petiolus and abdomen with micropunctures. The body is covered with short, erect, gray hairs; they are comparatively longer and more abundant on the abdomen, and longest on the mandibles; very short and semi-erect on the legs and absent on the antennae.

Head and mandibles

How to recognize a bite

The bulldog's bite has characteristic features. Residents of Australia know exactly what their skin looks like after contact with a dangerous ant. Immediately after injury, the skin swells and turns red. The following symptoms occur:

• a growing headache appears;
• blood pressure decreases;
• there is a malfunction of the heart;
• limbs and larynx swell;
• there are pockets of inflammation at the site of the bite.

This video talks about the most dangerous types of ants:

The patient needs urgent emergency care. The bite site is treated with alcohol. Antihistamines are taken to prevent an allergic reaction. In a child, a bite often leads to respiratory arrest. This is due to significant swelling of the larynx.

Literature

• Crosland, M. W. J. (1988). Effect of a gregarine parasite on the color of Myrmecia pilosula (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 81: 481–484.
• Davies, N. W., Wiese, M. D., Brown, S. G. A. (2004). Characterization of major peptides in 'jack jumper' ant venom by mass spectrometry. Toxicon. 43: 173–183.
• Ford, S. A., Baldo, B. A., Weiner, J., Sutherlands, S. (1991). Identification of jack-jumper ant (Myrmecia pilosula) venom allergens. Clin. Exper. Allergy. 21: 167–171.
• Hirai, H., Yamamoto, M.-T., Ogura, K., Satta, Y., Yamada, M., Taylor, R. W., Imai, H. T. (1994). Multiplication of 28S rDNA and NOR activity in chormosome evolution among ants of the Myrmecia pilosula species complex. Chromosoma (Berlin). 103: 171–178.
• Ogata, K.
  Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a review of the species groups and their phylogenetic relationships (English) // Systematic Entomology. - Wiley-Blackwell (English) Russian, 1991. - Vol. 16. - P. 353-381.
• Ogata, K. and R. W. Taylor.
  Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a preliminary review and key to the named species (English) // Journal of Natural History. - Taylor & Francis, 1991. - Vol. 25. - P. 1623-1673.
• Williams, M. A. (1991). Insecticidal control of Myrmecia pilosula F. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society. 30: 93-94.
• Hölldobler, Bert & Wilson, Edward O. (1990), The Ants
  , Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-04075-9

Benefits of ants

Ants are known to have a positive effect on soils by mixing different layers and adding nutrients. Arizona State University researcher Dr. Ronald Dorn found that ants increase the breakdown of certain minerals and the movement of carbon dioxide into calcium carbonate (limestone). The idea is that ants can help remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Other researchers have shown that weathering of calcium and magnesium silicates by living things is important for the removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide gases. https://www.youtube.com/embed/E3NF5fJjpsQ

During the 25-year period of this study, Dorn discovered ant colonies of eight different ant species (Pogonomyrmex rugosus, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, Dorymyrmex bicolor, Forelius pruinosus, Liometopum luctuosum, Tapinoma sessile, Formica neogagates and Camponotus vicinus) that improved mineral weathering by approximately 50- 300 higher than with bare ground control. At the same time, he found that the percentage of carbonates increased significantly in the nests of all different species.

Of all the factors he studied, Dorn found that ants were by far the most important weathering agents. Considering the amount of material that a given ant colony visits, this is not surprising.

Nomadic ants

The second most dangerous species is considered to be nomadic ants. As the name suggests, these tiny creatures cannot live in the same place all the time and often move from place to place. There are up to 22 million individuals in the colonies of the African species Dorylus wilverthi. The body size of ants also reaches 15 millimeters, and their jaws, which are larger than their heads, give them a terrifying appearance. The colony's movement speed is about 20 meters per hour. At the same time, soldier ants walk along the edges of the column and are ready to attack anyone.

Head of an African nomadic ant

Thus, columns of nomadic ants sometimes destroy almost everything that comes in their way. It doesn’t matter who it is: larvae, adult insects, snakes and rodents - the tiny creatures seem to be devoid of a sense of fear. But they can’t really harm people. Yes, in rare cases, their venom can cause the aforementioned anaphylactic shock in victims, but deaths are extremely rare. But these creatures would clearly be worth adding to the list of dangerous ants.

Emblem

Reconstruction of Endeavor showing Myrmecia gulosa

arrived in London.

Ant Myrmecia gulosa

is the emblem of the Australian Entomological Society.
This choice is due both to its noticeable "biting behavior" and to the fact that it was one of the very first insect species collected and scientifically described from Australia. The first specimen of Myrmecia gulosa
(Fabricius, 1775) was collected at New Holland by naturalist Joseph Banks in 1770 during James Cook's first expedition.
This ant, along with other early Australian insects (the weevil Chrysolopus spectabilis
, a butterfly and two flies), was transported to Europe on the ship Endeavor at the end of the expedition.
This first ant is currently preserved in good condition in the Joseph Banks Collection
(Natural History Museum, London).
Fabricius, visiting this museum once again, discovered a new species for science in this worker ant, and a few years later he isolated it into a separate genus Myrmecia
.

Attacks on people

Due to the fact that these insects are inhabitants of warm tropical countries, the threat of attack is present all year round. Most often, local residents and tourists from Africa, America, and Australia are attacked. There are a huge number of attacks that have had serious consequences and deaths.

For example, there is a known case that occurred in America. An attack by poisonous ants occurred in a nursing home in 1999. The attack occurred while the elderly were resting in bed and could not have provoked the attack in any way.

Insects inflicted multiple bites on two elderly men. Despite the fact that the necessary medical actions were immediately taken and treatments were used, the first man died 5 days later, and the second died 14 days later.

Although they are inhabitants of natural environments, attacks in residential areas are regularly recorded. The consequences of attacks vary and are not always fatal. There is a known case when these insects attacked an infant; he fell into a coma, but fortunately survived. There was also an attack on a 2-year-old boy; an ant bit him on the cornea of ​​the eye; in addition to emergency medical care, urgent surgery was also required.

Two elderly people could not survive the attack that took place at their home, and both died a week later. But there are cases where serious consequences were avoided after first aid was provided.

Each body reacts individually to the poison that enters the body. The same poison and in the same quantity can lead to death in one person, but not even cause complications in another. But you can’t hope that everything will work out; you need to take all possible measures to help protect yourself and prevent difficult situations.

If you are traveling to exotic countries, then go on excursions only with guides who are well aware of the possible dangers. In addition, it is recommended to use specialized protective equipment in the form of sprays and gels. Be sure to take antihistamines with you, which in case of a bite should be taken before receiving first aid.

Pest distribution areas

Every second person considers ants to be extremely harmless and beneficial, because they eat weak insects and destroy the bodies of dead living beings. But black ants bring not only benefits to the site:

• they grow aphids, which draw juices from plants;
• spoil the lawn;
• harm the roots and leaves of plants, gnaw edible root vegetables and sweet berries, spreading their acid to them;
• They spread bacteria that stick to their paws throughout the area, infecting plants and soil.

Domestic black ants are also dangerous:

• bring pathogenic bacteria from places where garbage accumulates, toilets and technical premises into the apartment;
• spoil food;
• they store food throughout the house, which spoils over time, which creates conditions for the appearance of mold fungi;
• They collect unnecessary garbage, excrement and food scraps outside their home, but on the territory of the apartment.

If you suddenly see even one insect, immediately begin getting rid of unnecessary neighbors.

Red ants are native to India and were once brought to Europe on merchant ships. In the cooler climate zone of Russia, insects create their colonies only where it is warm all year round - in human homes. This type of ant does not hibernate, so it is not able to survive the winter in natural conditions.

Thanks to their small size, a huge family of ants can fit into a shallow crevice

It is not at all difficult for nimble miniature insects to get into a house: cracks in the floor and walls are like a main entrance for them. Red ants do not build anthills. They settle in secluded, hard-to-reach places in the apartment, where they feel completely safe:

• in any cracks and cracks in the finishing;
• in cavities behind baseboards, peeling wallpaper, peeling linoleum;
• under kitchen cabinets, refrigerator;
• inside household appliances.

Fire ants

In the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and the Philippines you can run into so-called red fire ants. The length of their red body, because of which they were given their name, does not exceed 6 millimeters. These aggressive creatures cannot get enough of nectars alone, so they mainly feed on dead mammals, spiders, worms, and so on. The size of fire ant colonies depends on their diet. So, if individuals manage to find sweetened water, the colony grows faster. This conclusion, at least, was made by scientists during long-term observations.

Red fire ant close up

As a rule, red fire ants attack victims in a crowd and behave extremely aggressively. With painful bites, they inject the poisonous substance solenopsin into other organisms. The bites feel as if matches are being extinguished on the skin - hence the name “fire” ants. If a person is unlucky enough to encounter these creatures and is stung, symptoms include redness and swelling of the skin, nausea and dizziness. There are cases in history when fire ant bites led to the death of a person.

Head of a red fire ant. The consequences of the bites can be seen here, but this is not the most pleasant sight

Fire ants cause problems not only in the human world, but also in animal society. For several years in a row, scientists have noticed an increase in bird mortality and in some cases they die from the bites of these particular ants. In areas with a high density of these creatures, many chicks simply cannot reach the adult stage of development. Birds that nest on the ground are especially at risk. And this is understandable, because predatory ants don’t even need to climb the trees - the food just lies on a “plate” in the form of a nest.

Ground-nesting American terns (Sterna antillarum) are often victims of red ants.

Humanity is trying to fight fire ants in all available ways. Creatures such as parasitic ants of the Solenopsis daguerre species, humpback flies and Beauveria bassiana mushrooms are specially brought into places where they accumulate, which are used to destroy dangerous insects. Also, in some regions of the planet, people try to exterminate dangerous colonies by digging anthills and then pouring boiling water or liquid nitrogen. In the second half of the 20th century, chemicals were used to combat poisonous creatures, but then it was discovered that they were too dangerous for birds and people.

Insects affected by the fungus Boveria bassi