Types of ants. The most common type of ant in Russia. How many species of ants are there in the world?

Hello, today I’ll tell you how to count ants in a formicarium. The main problem when counting the number of ants is movement relative to each other. They run quickly and quickly, their eyes don’t have time to follow. Even with a colony size of 50, the head quickly swells, and if the number of individuals exceeds 100, then there is no point, so myrmecologists use tricks. Read to the end and find out how to save time and nerves when counting ants in your formicarium.

Let's briefly look at 3 ways to count ants:

Eye gauge;
Tweezers;
Photo.

Each method has pros and cons, we discuss this in the comments. I believe that there is no need to know the exact number of ants. The task is to understand whether this formicarium is suitable in size or whether it is time to move it. I'm ready to sacrifice accuracy.

I won’t consider the automatic option, at least I don’t know of any. All sensors will only read those ants that pass under it. What if half doesn’t even come out, what if we count one ant twice. They only make sense if you put an individual chip on each ant so that the sensor can determine whether this ant has been counted or not. And if you already went through them manually and attached a chip, then why use them?

General introduction to ants

From a biological point of view, ants belong to the Hymenoptera. Their size varies depending on the type. These are social insects that live in colonies. They build their anthills from small particles in the soil or wood. These families are well organized and have good communication systems to ensure that all their actions are coordinated. Interestingly, some species of ants communicate in their own language, with the help of which they convey complex information. Most of them have symbiotic relationships with certain insects, plants, fungi and bacteria.

Each member of the colony knows their place and clearly fulfills their assigned role.

Females. These are the founders of the anthill. In most colonies there is only one female. She lays eggs so that her anthill constantly grows and replenishes.
Males. They are needed for fertilization of females.
Working individuals. Thanks to them, the anthill lives. They build a house, guard it, clean it, supply all the inhabitants with food, and take care of the larvae.

It is worth noting that males and females are equipped with wings, but worker ants do not have them. Also, some types of ants have a sting.

Only a third of the ants in the anthill are useful

It would be a mistake to assume that the entire anthill works in unison. In fact, about a third of the ants don't work. They simply parasitize, living at the expense of others and doing nothing. The other third behaves even worse: they are actively engaged in... useless things. For example, they dig a tunnel that leads to nowhere. And the last third - the one from which the anthill lives - feeds the first, corrects the mistakes of the second and manages to do all the necessary actions to maintain the life of the entire colony.

Photo: Sandeep Handa/Pixabay

Lifestyle

After the female has been fertilized, she loses her wings and goes in search of a place where she will lay the foundation of her anthill of several rooms and lay eggs there. The male never survives. The queen feeds the larvae with saliva. The first “batch” of emerging workers begins to engage in construction and food production. After enough worker ants appear, the female only lays eggs, and the colony takes care of the larvae (white, helpless worms). After five molts, pupae form and stop feeding. Adult females and workers emerge from them. This process lasts throughout the growing season. Males are reborn only in spring.

The main diet is plant juice from aphid secretions. But at the moment when they take care of the larvae, the ants feed on other insects.

Caste division

Most of the colony consists of worker ants. Half of them provide coziness and comfortable living inside the building, the other takes care of food supplies and is engaged in external construction of the house. The hierarchy is headed by the female, who is more often called the queen or queen. It is she who, having been fertilized at a young age, produces offspring throughout her life and finds a place for an anthill.

After two weeks, ants appear, usually a worker clan. It is they who begin the construction. A small part of the colony consists of young males. Their fate is unenviable - after the female is fertilized, they die within two weeks.

Ants: species in Russia and their characteristics

It is known that these insects are able to adapt to various conditions and colonize any landscape. But each individual species has its own characteristics, and this is connected not only with external characteristics. Each of them has their own differences in behavior and lifestyle. Therefore, if we learn more deeply about these insects, even those that live on our territory, they may seem no less interesting to us than those that live only in the tropics. It has already been mentioned how many species of ants there are in the world, so it is worth noting that more than 125 species of them are found in Russia. But in different sources this figure varies and sometimes reaches 300. The most familiar of them are red forest, meadow, pharaoh, house, termites, leaf cutters and others. Let's look at some types of ants. Photos of some insects will be included.

Interesting facts about ants

Despite their miniature size, ants can carry objects that weigh five thousand times more than insects.
These are one of the most intelligent insects: their brain has 250 thousand cells.
Some types of ants are poisonous; their bites are deadly to humans.
These are the most ancient insects on our planet - scientists believe that the first individuals appeared on Earth more than a hundred million years ago.
Ants move only in formation; these insects can show both aggression towards each other and touching care. After an individual is injured, relatives look after him throughout the entire illness and even bring him food.
Ants can stay under water for several days, and this does not threaten them with negative consequences.
In addition to the queen, other females live in the anthill, but none of them can give birth to offspring.

Red forest

For its habitat, this species chooses mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests that are more than 40 years old. Females and workers are distinguished by their red-brown color. Their length is approximately 7-14 mm. The head of this ant is oblong and the body is dense. Males are black, with reddish or yellowish legs. Their families are single, divided into three castes. One nest can contain from 800 thousand to 1 million individuals. Mating flights begin from May to the end of June. The surprising thing is that only workers, males or females emerge from the eggs. It all depends on the needs of the family.

This type of ant can harm fruit trees due to the fact that they breed aphids. But at the same time they also benefit the gardens. These insects destroy many pests that cause damage to crop plants. At the same time, ants pay special attention to those insects in which mass reproduction begins. It has been calculated that in a large anthill these insects can bring up to 21 thousand pest pupae in one day. Therefore, one such anthill is capable of protecting approximately a hectare of coniferous forest.

How long do ants live?

This depends on a number of factors. The type of insect and caste, habitat, season - these are the main reasons that influence how long ants live in natural conditions. Worker ants live on average from one to three years. Smaller species have shorter lifespans than their larger relatives. Surprisingly, ants in cold regions live longer than their tropical relatives.

Males live for several weeks. During this period, they bring the only benefit to the population: they take part in mating. They are then destroyed by the colony or become prey to predators. The longest-living individual in the ant kingdom is the queen. In some species, its lifespan reaches 20 years.

meadow ant

Another species common in Russia is the meadow. The size of this insect varies between 5-11 mm. Meadow ants have a body covered with villi and a dark spot on the front of the chest. To build a house, they choose meadows, open edges and clearings. This species also breeds aphids. From the anthill to their “pastures” there are deepened paths, over which there are canopies. Ants walk along these paths for years. In addition to aphid secretions, these ant species feed on dead insects. They very rarely feast on live ones.

After winter, as soon as the air warms up to +10 degrees, they crawl out of the anthill. At a temperature of +30, insects do not leave their home. It was described above how many species of ants there are in the world, but of all of them, only these fly out to reproduce twice a season. They fall in May and August.

What does an anthill look like from the inside?

Anthill

It only looks like a bunch of twigs and needles, but inside there is a whole “ant city”. Inside, an underground gallery leads to chambers that are interconnected. The depth of the nests varies from 30 cm to 2 m, and in desert ants it reaches more than 10 m.

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Pharaoh ant

This representative is one of the smallest ants.
Their total length is 2-4 mm. They were first discovered in Egypt in tombs on mummies. Then Carl Linnaeus described them and gave them a name. This happened in 1758. Their small size helped these babies spread throughout the earth. They were spotted in Russia in 1889. This is how these types of ants gained fame. In the world they are found in almost every corner where there are people. They are usually yellow in color and have a dark belly. Males are almost black and always winged. This species is very hardworking, and in the northern side they live exclusively in human houses. They prefer darkness and moisture, so they are more often found in cracks in floors, walls and other voids. Because they are always warm, they do not hibernate and their colonies are constantly growing. Usually their number is several thousand. In addition, they do not have to fly out to reproduce, and after fertilization, the workers bite off the wings of the queen. In just a year, the family grows by two thousand inhabitants. The nest is divided, and so they spread throughout the entire area, growing into huge colonies. It is difficult to fight them, since there may be more than one female in one place. Interestingly, bedbugs cannot get along with these inhabitants, since the acids that come from pharaoh ants are fatal to these bed pests.

Why are ants so powerful?

Zoologists readily explain why an ant or a beetle lifts more than its weight. The secret is that small living things, relative to their size or mass, have more muscle fibers than large animals. The same applies to humans.

Scientists have developed a formula to calculate the thickness of muscle fibers in proportion to body weight and size. And also the structure of Hymenoptera differs markedly from the skeleton of vertebrates and the set of their internal organs. When calculating how much weight an ant or other insect can lift, such anatomical features must be taken into account.

Since insects are very small, they join forces to carry objects that are huge for them. In Hymenoptera, a synergistic effect is often at work.

Two working members of a caste together are able to lift and carry more weight than if both carried separately. As a result of the combination of these two forces, productivity increases noticeably.

House ant

These representatives are also among the smallest, their size ranges from 1 to 3 mm. The female and male are dark brown in color, and the working individuals are distinguished by their bright yellow color. These ants are called thieves. Their small size makes them almost invisible, and thanks to this they get along well near the anthills of other species. At the same time, they steal larvae and eggs from them in order to feed themselves. They can be found in central Russia, as well as on the southern side of the European part of the country.

Ant "professions"

There are many of them. Among them:

Invading warriors. Their main task is to seize new territories and attack neighboring anthills to steal cocoons and larvae, which later become slaves working for the prosperity of someone else's anthill.
Builders. They maintain the condition and structure of the anthill, build new communications and tunnels. As the size of the colony increases, every day hundreds of builder ants carry twigs and needles from above to the deeper layers of their home, and lift them up from the lower floors. This maintains stable humidity. Thanks to this, the dome of the anthill does not mold or rot.
Orderlies. Sick ants are isolated from society; if a patient's leg is damaged, the orderlies amputate it - they simply chew it off.
Getters. Their main task is to find and then carefully store food.
Security guards. These individuals reliably protect the entrances to the anthill from strangers and ensure the safety of the larvae and the queen.
Shepherds (milkers). Ants have "pets". Aphids feed on vegetation and secrete a sweet liquid called honeydew. Ants tickle aphids and collect sweet nectar, which is a nutritious and tasty food and source of carbohydrates for them.
Transporters - carry honeydew into the anthill.
Maternity hospital workers. The eggs are transferred to special compartments and are responsible for maintaining the desired temperature.
Guardians of nectar. These workers are necessary in case of famine in the anthill, when the foraging ants will not be able to bring food. In this case, products are used that are always stored in abundance by thrifty keepers.

Depending on the number of insects living in the anthill, a division of labor occurs. In a small family, the principle of interchangeability is practiced. In a large colony, specializations emerge and the ants are assigned certain responsibilities.

black ant

This species is also one of the most common and often settles in human homes. Their color is usually black, but can be dark brown. The entire body of the insect is covered with small villi. Usually anthills are built in the soil, and there is a mound on top. They can also build their homes in wood and under boulders. Sometimes you can find a larger black ant - in this case, you have stumbled upon another representative, it is called the reaper. This species is known for its tendency to store huge reserves in the anthill. They can collect about a kilogram of seeds and insects to successfully overwinter. It is interesting that, unlike other ants, they feed their larvae with plant food, and not insects.

But the types of ants that are found in Russia do not end there. For example, many people know wood borers that run along branches and collect honeydew on leaves, and establish their colonies in stumps or under the bark, gnawing passages. Also in the country there are some species of “Amazons” that do not give birth to workers, but steal larvae from more peaceful ants. The babies that are born think that the Amazons are their parents and begin to do all the “dirty” work for them.

Exterior view of the ant house

An anthill outwardly resembles a mountain of blades of grass, twigs, and pieces of soil, but in reality it is a well-organized dwelling, inside of which interesting life is in full swing. From above, the anthill structure is a cone-shaped mound with small openings-entrances. This shape is not accidental - it allows the anthill to be well warmed up by the sun, not to get wet when it rains, and to receive the necessary access to oxygen.

Over the years, the anthill grows to several meters in height. Raindrops that fall on the outer layer do not penetrate inside. The open entrances, which are guarded by a large army of soldiers, are ventilation shafts through which air constantly flows into the ant house. In the Tomsk region, scientists discovered a huge anthill 3 meters high and about 5 meters in diameter. Experts believe that this structure took about 20 years to build.

The most dangerous types of ants: names and descriptions

There are two types of these insects that instill special fear in humans. But they are not found in Russia. These are the bullet and soldier ants (also known as wandering ants). The first species is found in forests stretching from Paraguay to Nicaragua. Its body length is 2.5 centimeters. He makes his anthill on a tree. Passing under it, you can get caught by this ant, which bravely jumps on a person to protect its colony from the enemy. These insects can scream and, before attacking, they make a call. It's called a "bullet" for a reason. Its bite is as piercing and painful as a bullet wound.

How many ants does it take to lift different objects?

Knowing the weight of the ant and how much this hymenoptera can lift, the following calculations are made:

450 thousand ants can lift one adult man;
a bag of potatoes (50 kg) is enough for 300 thousand ants;
A bottle of juice (500 ml) will raise 3 thousand insects.

The strength of ants comes in handy when they need to adapt to difficult environmental conditions. The objects they come into contact with are most often much larger than the insects themselves. For them, even an ordinary leaf from a tree turns out to be a big burden. If an object has a complex shape and the ant cannot lift it, then it is able to drag it along for a long time.

If a person were endowed with such strength, he would lift about 4-5 tons without any problems. But no one is capable of lifting so many tons. This allows us to conclude that the strength of an ant is many times greater than that of a human. Many people are simply perplexed as to why such insects are endowed with such an ability.

Soldier Ant

This is the second dangerous arthropod. It mainly lives in the Amazon, but its families can be found in Asia and Africa. These are large individuals, reaching 1.5 cm. They are also equipped with large mandibles (approximately 7-8 mm). These ants do not have a permanent anthill. They always roam, stopping only for that short period while the queen lays eggs. At this time, the soldiers are in search of food. When the larvae appear, the ants pick them up and continue on their way. The worst thing is that on their way they destroy all living things - insects, small and large animals - all those who did not want to hide or fell asleep. Hundreds of thousands of powerful soldiers cover the unwary victim like a wave. These ants are completely blind, so they regard everything as a threat to their colony. That is why they are not afraid of the size of animals.

These ants are an unusually united people. If necessary, they can create absolutely any shape from their bodies. For example, they make bridges to help the colony overcome obstacles, or walls to protect against bad weather. To do this, they cling tightly to each other.

Exotic species

Unlike Russian ones, exotic species are often dangerous to people and have unusual behavior. Let's look at some of the brightest representatives of foreign ants.

Bulldog Ants

This genus of ants got its name because of its characteristic, menacing-looking jaws. In total it includes about 90 species. Bulldog ants live in Australia. Also one species is found in New Caledonia and New Zealand.

Myrmecia pavida Clark, one of the varieties of the bulldog ant, can instantly jump 39 cm or jump up to 7.6 cm.

Bulldogs have large, protruding eyes. Most species have an impressive size - up to 3 cm. The color of ants is varied, usually they are black, brown, or bright red or orange. Able to jump, which is rare in the ant family; Besides bulldogs, three more genera are capable of this. Bulldogs live in earthen nests; only one arboreal species is known. There is usually only one queen and she lives for two years.

According to statistics, 3% of people stung by bulldog ants develop a severe allergic reaction

Bulldog ants contain gamergates—working individuals that are capable of reproducing in the event of the death of the queen.

These ants are predators and feed on insects, including wasps and bees. They can also consume sweet plant juices. Some species have an interesting feature - they produce eggs intended exclusively for feeding. Insects are quite dangerous for humans: the bite of some species can cause severe pain, which only goes away after a few days. There have been cases of death due to severe allergic reactions to bulldog ant venom.

Leafcutter ants

Leaf cutters are a large group of ants, including 15 genera. All species vary in color and size, but rarely reach more than 2 cm in length. Leaf cutters live on the American continents; in North America - in the southern USA. Capable of a kind of agriculture, growing mushrooms in anthills.

Scientists have found that some types of leaf-cutter ants, when growing mushrooms, even add fertilizer to the leaf substrate

Leaf cutters got their name because they cut leaves and flowers, which they then take to the anthill. However, they do not eat them, but only chew them, thus creating nutritious soil for growing mushrooms. During their existence, mushrooms and ants formed a symbiosis, and young queens, organizing a new nest, immediately bring spores and hyphae of the fungus into it. Anthills can extend over tens of cubic meters along the ground, and their above-ground part consists of mounds reaching a meter in height. The size of the colony is up to 8 million ants, headed by one queen.

Leafcutter ants are one of the strongest creatures on Earth, as they can lift loads that weigh 50 times their weight.

These ants are safe for humans, since they themselves do not attack humans. And the poison of this insect is not as strong as, for example, that of a bulldog. But if a person is prone to allergies, individual reactions and redness may be observed after the bite. Why leaf cutters are dangerous is for the garden - if attacked by ants overnight, only bare trunks may remain.

Ant bullet

The most dangerous representative of the ant family is the bullet ant. Its venom is recognized as the most toxic of all known insect venoms.

The ant received the name “bullet” for its impressive sting (up to 3.5 mm) and the acute pain from the bite, comparable to the sensations from a bullet wound. Another name is ant-24 hours, since the pain lasts about a day.

These insects are found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. The size of the bullet ant is 1.8–2.5 cm, the color is brown-black. There are 1–3 thousand individuals living in a colony; there may be one or several queens. Anthills are usually located in the soil, at the roots of trees, and in some cases on the trees themselves. Bullet ants feed on live and dead insects, and sometimes even small vertebrates, which they cut into pieces with sharp jaws and carry to the anthill. However, they are not aggressive towards large creatures, and will only attack humans if they feel threatened.

To avoid being attacked by a bullet ant, it is better not to approach it.

In a dangerous situation, the ant begins to make hissing sounds and secrete repellent musky substances. If this does not help, it attacks the threatening object with its stinger. Since bullet venom is a neurotoxin, it causes local paralysis and extremely severe pain, which is 30 times worse than the pain of a wasp sting and lasts about 24 hours. Severe allergic reactions often occur, including anaphylactic shock, so deaths as a result of a bite are not uncommon if medical attention is not provided in time. Based on the above, the bullet can be considered the most dangerous ant for humans.

Many Indian tribes use bullet ants to initiate young men into adult men. While undergoing initiation, a young man must hold mittens with ants woven into them for 10 minutes.

Red fire ants

Another deadly ant is the red fire ant. Its venom, like that of the bullet ant, is very toxic. The homeland of the species is Brazil, although with the advent of transport they spread to other countries with warm climates. Now they can be found in Australia, New Zealand, USA, and China.

This type of ant is very aggressive and is capable of destroying most living creatures in the territory they inhabit. They are omnivores, so they sweep away both animals and plants in their path.

Red fire ants are small, measuring 2–6 mm. The body is reddish-brown. Their anthills are earthen, up to half a meter high. A colony can have one or several queens.

Red fire ants are extremely dangerous to people and ecosystems

These ants got their name “fire” because of the burning sensation at the site of their bites. It is better not to approach their anthill at all, because when the colony is threatened, the insects attack all at once, even large creatures - animals and people. But their poison is very dangerous, and if a person is prone to allergies, then an attack by even one ant can be fatal.

More than 30 people die from fire ant bites in America every year.

Red fire ants also harm agriculture by destroying crops and attacking domestic animals. Once these insects are infested in homes, they are very difficult to remove, which is why residents usually choose to move out for their own safety.

Army ant soldiers

Worker ants of different species are usually called soldiers, but there is also a separate species with this name. Army ant soldiers are nomads that are found in the Amazon, Asia and Africa. Adults are approximately 1.5 cm in size and have a dark red body color. The queen during the ovipositor period reaches 5 cm, which is why army ants can be considered the largest in the world.

Another name for the species is Siafu nomadic ants.

They were nicknamed army because of their behavior, because the entire colony, which can reach a million individuals, coordinates its actions like a battalion of soldiers. They do not have permanent nests, and they are on the move all their lives, stopping only for the period of reproduction. When the queen lays eggs and the larvae emerge, the ants continue on their way.

The army soldier ant looks very combative thanks to its tenacious jaws

Ants build a temporary home with their bodies, interlocking with each other with their jaws and forming a spherical structure.

They destroy any living creature they encounter. A distinctive feature is that the soldiers are blind, so they attack everyone indiscriminately, and can tear apart an animal the size of a horse. This makes them extremely dangerous, including for people. But the bites of individual soldiers themselves do not pose a threat to life, although they can cause allergies; no deaths were recorded from them.

Honey ants

A large group of ants, including 5 different genera, are called honey ants. The name is associated with an interesting feature: some working individuals store large reserves of honeydew and plant juice in their abdomens. This is how the ants adapted to the arid climate of the deserts and semi-deserts where they live. There are few plants and aphids, the secretions of which the ants feed on, so the inflated “honey barrels” feed other individuals as needed. Insects often swollen from honeydew are unable to move, so they hang in the upper part of the anthill chamber.

An ant's abdomen filled with honeydew becomes larger in size than it is.

Mexicans call the “ant barrels” of Myrmecocystus “earth grapes” and extract honey from them. Almost 400 grams of honey are “squeezed” out of 1000 barrel ants.

One colony of honey ants can contain from hundreds to several million individuals, led by a queen. There can be a thousand or more thrifty “honey barrels”; a colony with 1,500 such worker ants has been recorded.

Yellow crazy ants

The species Anoplolepis gracilipes has an unusual name - these ants were called crazy for their chaotic behavior. They are yellow-brown in color, have long legs and a body measuring about 4mm.

Yellow crazy ants can spread around the world using human transport. It is believed that they appeared in Africa, but later settled on the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Their social structure is interesting: several colonies unite into a supercolony, similar to a federation. Each of its components has its own workers and its own queen, but they do not compete, but cooperate with each other, which helps the species to more successfully capture new territories.

A yellow crazy ant caused an environmental disaster in the Seychelles by attacking a palm forest

Yellow ants feed on insects, plants, including grain. They can also eat small invertebrate animals, like many predatory species. For people who are not prone to allergies, crazy ants are not very dangerous, although their bites are quite unpleasant and cause itching and swelling due to the venom. But these insects pose a serious threat to ecology and agriculture.

On Christmas Island, yellow crazy ants have killed 15-20 million red crabs - 30% of the entire population - since 1989.

Enemies of ants

As we have seen, different types of ants have their own internal structure, which protects them and allows the colony to exist. But these insects also have enemies who love to feast on them. One of the largest ant pests is the bear. He regularly destroys anthills by putting his paws there. The ants “stick around” them, and the bear licks the treat. Moles and frogs also like to snack on these insects; they will not let a baby run past. In addition, many people know the animal called “anteater”. Its muzzle is specially adapted to fit into the homes of insects. In addition, he is not afraid of their bites, since the fur is so hard and thick that even small ants are not able to get through it. The meat of this animal smells very much of these insects and is black in color. But these are not the only enemies of ants, since they are hunted not only by mammals, but by birds and even fish.

Internal organization

From the inside, the anthill amazes with the thoughtfulness and well-functioning work of the builders. Inside, this structure is a collection of passages - an anthill, with many exits and various chambers. The structure goes deep underground, is divided into two parts and houses a whole colony of hardworking inhabitants.

Insects spend most of their time in the upper tier and live here during the warm season. The chambers are well heated, and all conditions for raising offspring are created here. The lower part, which goes one and a half to two meters underground, has similar structures. It is designed for wintering insects that wait out cold weather underground and store food reserves.

Each part is divided into chambers that perform specific functions:

Queen's room. The queen lives in it and lays eggs there. It is looked after by worker ants who lay eggs.
Egg storage. The ants bring eggs here and ensure that conditions are provided for their development.
Chamber for larvae. The hatched ants are shaped like worms and are characterized by their insatiable gluttony. They are placed several in one chamber and provided with food.
The anthill structure also includes a food storage room. Moreover, there are separate rooms for grains, seeds, insect parts, and aphids.
Garbage storage warehouse.
Wintering room.

The chambers are connected by numerous passages, which are carefully guarded by soldier ants. With the onset of cold weather or the approach of danger, the openings of the ant house close.

Do ants have enemies and who destroys anthills in the forest? These insects have plenty of enemies. If in the city even pets - dogs or cats - can cause damage to an anthill, then in the forest bears pose a great danger to them. The clubfooted owner of the taiga uses his clawed paw to rake anthills to feast on larvae and ants. Hedgehogs, like mice, will not refuse a light snack if they encounter an anthill on their way.

Many of us have known about the structure of ant homes since school, and most know that they cannot be destroyed. Unfortunately, the reality is different.

Myrmecologists are engaged in serious research into the life of these hardworking insects.

Features of the body structure of a worker ant, soldier, female and male: description

The uterus is large in size. Before mating, females have wings, which they chew off for additional nutrition when they lay eggs. The queen's breasts are more powerful and developed, and her abdomen is wider.
Males are significantly smaller than females. Most have wings, but there are also wingless ones.
Workers are females who cannot have offspring. They are more modest in size than the uterus. They don't have wings. The structure of the chest is simplified, the eyes are smaller and may be absent.
Soldiers are larger workers with a disproportionately large head and powerful mandibles that allow them to effectively defend themselves.

Ant insect development stages: diagram

Four stages of ant development:

The ant egg is up to 1 mm in size, oval in shape, yellowish, whitish in color.
The larva has a worm-like appearance. Immediately after hatching, the larvae are together. They separate as they grow. During this period, the ants feed them abundantly.
A pupa is a larva that spins a cocoon around itself. While in the cocoon, the larva does not eat.
The adult emerges from the cocoon with the help of other ants, but cannot get out on its own. Initially, the color of the young individual is light; the color characteristic of the species is acquired after a few days. The ant no longer grows.

The whole process lasts about a month.

What other abilities do they have?

Ant power, which never ceases to amaze the human imagination, is expressed not only in how many loads this insect can lift. Ants are also very inventive, and they also have other incredible abilities.

Hymenoptera put a lot of effort into caring for their offspring. The safety of future generations is their priority.

Insect bridges

African ants not only amaze with the amount of load they carry, but also with their ability to build living bridges. If they encounter a water obstacle, the working individuals quickly construct a bridge from their own bodies. This allows the queen and larvae to safely cross to the other side.

Visually, the bridge design looks very unusual. It's amazing how many Hymenoptera create it. Several hundred ant individuals at once firmly adhere to each other. In this position they maintain a static position until all the larvae and the queen are safely away from the water.

Dragging along the ground

No matter how much weight an ant is able to lift, this is not always possible due to the awkward shape of the object, so they often simply diligently drag their find along the ground. Also, the need for this may arise when an insect finds an object that is too large, which, even if it wants to, cannot be lifted above itself.

Scientists say that if we continue to study how much weight an ant can lift , as well as its other features, then in the future this will help design equipment and robots. Such innovative developments will make it possible for products to easily lift weights that will be many times greater than their own weight.

Option No. 3 Report about Ants

The world of insects is so diverse that every year people make more and more discoveries for themselves, getting acquainted with new species of representatives of this part of wildlife and their activities.

Of great interest among them are small, restless ants, whose lifestyle also interests children. Ants live in groups, as it is very difficult for them to cope with difficulties alone. The family size can range from several tens to millions of insects. Far from their group, their life expectancy decreases. This is due to an increase in the activity and performance of a solitary ant. Performing more movements alone, due to fatigue, his strength becomes less, and the time of their existence is reduced.

A large number of ant species are distributed everywhere. They are able to tolerate any climate zone, with the exception of severe cold and hot deserts.

Like any insect, ants prefer to have a cozy corner where they can always return. Their home is called an anthill. The favorite place for its construction is rotten wood, which looks like a heap or mound. There are countless passages inside the home, and the required temperature regime is also maintained there. Some of them find a place under stones and can fearlessly live in plain sight of people.

All this speaks about the nature of ants, which are capable of different types of activities. The efficiency of insects surprises both children and adults. The moments of movement of an ant with a burden larger than the insect itself become a close subject of attention. They are friendly among their relatives, each of whom has their own responsibilities.

The external color characteristics of this insect are varied. They are characterized by shades of yellow, black, and brown. The size of the ant is small, 2-3 millimeters.

Its structure is represented by three parts. Head with large eyes and antennae. There is a thin waist between the abdomen and chest. Thin, seemingly fragile, ant legs are protected by claws. With their help, he tenaciously grabs the found object and carries it. In addition, they facilitate easy upward movement.

Nature has endowed the small creature with a way to protect itself from the enemy: it uses formic acid, which it sprays out with special glands that are poisonous.

The residence of some species of ants near humans causes some harm to garden plants, spreading aphids, which are sometimes very difficult to rid plantings of. However, by eating some garden pests, they save the harvest. They are sought after by some bird species as food, for example, woodpeckers and wood grouse. In the steppes they disperse various seeds, from which snowdrops, violets, and celandine appear. In the process of building their home, thousands of insects simultaneously loosen the soil, the quality of which noticeably improves, and it becomes suitable for planting.

Human health is also sometimes subject to undesirable effects. This is due to the fact that insects become unexpected visitors to the house. With their presence they spoil food and are carriers of diseases. Known all over the world, “formic alcohol” is a cure for people’s ailments (asthma, diabetes).

Having enough information about ants, you can learn to understand their methods of survival, have an idea of their activities, and what danger they pose. Such knowledge teaches how to treat these insects correctly.

1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th grade, the world around us briefly. In biology

Turban of Avtar Singh Mauni

63-year-old Sikh Avtar Singh Mauni is set to break the world record for wearing the world's heaviest turban. His headdress weighs a whopping 45 kilograms and, when unwound, is roughly the length of 13 Olympic swimming pools. It takes Avtar Singh Mauni about 6 hours to roll his turban. Given the size of the structure, its owner simply does not fit in a car, so he usually rides a motorcycle.

When we talk about the strength of a living creature, for some reason we imagine a very large animal - an elephant, rhinoceros or gorilla. However, strength is not always comparable to size.

It happens that even among small, or rather small, creatures, there are real strongmen who are able to lift or move an object whose weight is several times greater than their own. So what are these strong animals like? Perhaps this question interests many nature lovers. So let's see which of them are really the strongest, and whether it is correct to consider the most powerful creatures as the largest.

What about centipedes and spiders?

Contrary to popular belief, and even to the name, the centipede has not forty legs, but only thirty. By the way, they appear in an extremely interesting way in an invertebrate. At the beginning of its existence, it has only eight legs (almost a spider). Then the centipede begins to grow, the body lengthens, and additional limbs gradually grow.

Spider... Strange as it may sound, this representative of the animal world is not an insect. It has eight legs, not six, like insects, and the body consists of only two parts (the cephalothorax and the abdomen). In most cases, all spiders are predators, while insects mostly feed on vegetation.

Ants are considered one of the most common insects. Their breeding into an independent family happened quite a long time ago. Information about the first individuals can be traced back to the time of dinosaurs.

The main characteristics of an ant as an insect are the following:

colonial social way of life;
presence of caste;
metapleural gland;
reduced veins on wings;
a narrow stalk connecting the chest with the abdomen;
upper jaws, which have a serrated chewing edge;
absence of individual cells in larvae.

Almost all varieties of ants prefer to live in anthill nests, which they dig themselves in completely different places, such as the ground, under stones, in tree trunks, and also equip them directly in human housing.

Ants are considered one of the most common insects

The average lifespan of this insect is about four years, but the exact period depends entirely on many factors. There are cases when situations were observed. That ants can live for about six years.

The structure of the first ants was very primitive compared to those insects that can be found today. The main difference between ants and other arthropods is that an ant has only six legs, while for example, a spider has eight. Therefore, spiders, although they belong to arthropods, are classified into a separate family called arachnids.

Sources

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