At first glance, the anthill may seem like a messy pile of conifer needles, branches, earth and grass. In fact, inside this unsightly heap, a real city lives its own life. Each resident knows his place, everything is subordinated to the strictest routine. These tiny insects that do not have a highly developed intellect capture any suitable territory for their existence.
Ants: General Description
Ants are insects that live in almost all corners of our planet, with the exception of Greenland and Antarctica, as well as some ocean islands. They populated not only the steppes, forests, but also deserts. There are 13.5 thousand species of ants, 300 of them are distributed in our country.
Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, type of arthropod, class of insects, family of ants. These are social insects that have a clear division into three castes: males, females, as well as working individuals. These small hardworking creatures cannot live alone, therefore they always create colonies.
Physiological features
In the body structure of these insects, three parts are distinguished, covered with a chitinous shell: the head, as well as the chest and abdomen connected by a thin waist. The eyes, which are made up of many lenses, distinguish movement, but they do not give a clear image. The ants move with the help of six thin legs with claws at the ends, which allow the insect to climb up.
Antenna, segmented, located on the head. These are the organs of touch, which not only pick up odors, but also feel the vibration of the soil and the movement of air currents. The structural features of the insect and the size of the ants depend on their species, as well as the status occupied in the colony. On average, it ranges from 1 mm to 3 cm.
The largest individuals in some species are females, in others their size is not larger than the size of working individuals. Females have wings that fall off after mating season. The color of ants can be different - from black, red, yellow and brown to unusual green or bluish. Ants are difficult to classify, since twin species and numerous hybrids are common in nature. Only specialists can distinguish them in appearance.
How many ants live?
It depends on a number of factors. The type of insect and caste, habitat, season - these are the main reasons that affect how many ants live in natural conditions. Working ants live on average from one to three years. In smaller species, life expectancy is shorter than in 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 population the only benefit: they take part in mating. Then they are destroyed by the colony or they become a victim of predators. The most long-lived individual in the ant kingdom is the uterus. In some species, its life span reaches 20 years.
Stages of anthill construction
The construction of an ant house begins with the advent of a sexually mature generation. Under favorable conditions, the queen (uterus) lays ant eggs. In the future, working individuals look after them. Mature females and males leave their anthill to build a new colony and breed.
It is interesting to observe how ants build an ant hill. First, they find and carefully examine the place for a new home. It is important for them that there are no dead ants in the selected area, it is desirable that there is a “hunted” prey (a large caterpillar, a frog, a beetle, a heap of sugar, seeds and mushrooms). The place should be in the shade, have normal humidity and ventilation.
They build a common house of ants from various blades of grass, leaves, earth, bark. Building material is carefully crushed and glued with ant glue. The work is carried out very carefully and thoroughly, for centuries. Construction continues around the clock as the ant colony grows rapidly. Almost all their lives, these hard workers build their dwelling, increasing it in depth and in height.
The appearance of an ant house
The anthill looks like a mountain of blade of grass, twigs, pieces of soil, but in reality it is a well-organized home, inside of which an interesting life boils. On top of the anthill device is a mound of conical shape with small inlet openings. This form is not accidental - it allows the anthill to be warmed up well by the sun, not to get wet when it rains, to obtain the necessary oxygen access.
Over the years, the anthill grows to several meters in height. Raindrops that fall on the outer layer do not penetrate. The open entrances, which are guarded by a large army of soldiers, are ventilation shafts through which air constantly enters 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 was built for about 20 years.
Internal organization
From the inside, the anthill impresses with its thoughtfulness, the well-functioning work of builders. Inside this structure is a collection of moves - anthill, has many exits, various chambers. The structure deepens underground, is divided into two parts and accommodates a whole colony of hardworking inhabitants.
Most of the time, insects spend in the upper tier, live here in the warm season. The cameras warm up very well, all the conditions for growing offspring are created here. The lower part, which goes underground to one and a half to two meters, has similar structures. It is intended for the wintering of insects that wait cold underground under the ground and store food supplies.
Each part is divided into cameras that perform certain functions:
- Queen's room. The uterus lives in it, where it lays eggs. Work ants, who lay eggs, take care of her.
- Egg storage. Ants bring eggs here, monitor the conditions for their development.
- Chamber for larvae. Hatched ants in shape resemble worms and are insatiable gluttony. They are placed in several pieces in one chamber and provide food.
- An anthill and a food storage room are also provided. Moreover, there are separate rooms for grains, seeds, parts of insects, aphids.
- Warehouse for storage of garbage.
- Wintering room.
The cameras are connected by numerous passages, which are carefully guarded by ants-soldiers. 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? Enemies in these insects abound. If in the city even pets can cause damage to the anthill - dogs or cats, then in the forest bears are a great danger to them. The claw-footed owner of the taiga with its clawed paw rakes anthills to feast on larvae and ants. Hedgehogs, like mice, will not refuse a light bite if an ant hill is encountered on their way.
Many of us have known about the arrangement of the ant dwelling since our school days, and most of us know that they cannot be destroyed. Unfortunately, in reality everything is different.
Serious studies of the life of these hard-working insects are carried out by myrmecologists.
How does a colony appear?
To find out how the life of ants proceeds in an anthill, it is necessary to start with the birth of a new offspring. Once a year, males and females of ants appear from the eggs, ready for procreation. Females have wings and for mating they fly apart in different directions.
Males die after fertilization, and females go in search of a place to create a new colony. Having found it, the female gnaws off her wings to obtain the necessary nutrients and proceeds to the active laying of eggs.
At first, it survives thanks to an impressive fat layer, but when the first representatives of the offspring are born, they provide the uterus with everything necessary. The ant queen mates only once, but at the same time she has enough stock of sperm for life to reproduce offspring.
Interesting life inside the anthill
Ants live in large colonies that survive for several years. All members of such a colony are relatives. From a social point of view, an anthill for ants can be considered a city whose population is divided into castes and perfectly organized. Experts believe that a parallel civilization is developing under our feet.
If people interact through speech, facial expressions and gestures, then the ants communicate, exchanging food and using smells: each ant has a unique smell, and each colony has special shades of aromas. Thanks to them, insects can feel that a stranger has entered their house. In addition, ants interact with pheromones. So they inform the relatives about the danger or the place where the food is.
Division into castes
Most of the colony is made up of working ants. Half of them provide coziness and comfortable living inside the building, the other takes care of food supplies, and is engaged in the external construction of the house. The female, who is more often called the uterus or queen, leads the hierarchy. It was she who fertilized at a young age, gives offspring her whole life and finds a place for an anthill.
After two weeks, ants appear, usually a working clan. They are taken for construction. A small part of the colony is made up of young males. Their fate is unenviable - after the fertilization of the female, they die within two weeks.
Ant "professions"
There are many such. Among them:
- Warrior invaders. Their main task is to capture new territories and attack neighboring anthills to steal cocoons and larvae, which later become slaves, working for the prosperity of another's anthill.
- Builders. They maintain the condition and structure of the anthill, build new communications and tunnels. As the colony grows in numbers, hundreds of construction ants carry branches and needles from above to the deeper layers of their houses every day, and from the lower floors they lift up. It maintains stable humidity. Due to this, the anthill dome does not mold and does not rot.
- Orderlies. Isolates from the society of sick ants, if a patient’s leg is damaged, the orderlies amputate it - they simply bite it off.
- Miners. Their main task is to find and then neatly store food.
- The guards. These individuals reliably protect the entrances to the anthill from strangers and ensure the safety of the larvae and the queen.
- Shepherds (millers). Ants have "pets." Aphids feed on vegetation and produce a sweet liquid called pad. Ants tickle aphids and collect sweet nectar, which for them is nutritious and tasty food and a source of carbohydrates.
- Transporters - carry a pad into the anthill.
- Workers of the hospital. They transfer eggs to special compartments and are responsible for maintaining the desired temperature.
- Keepers of Nectar. These workers are needed in case of starvation in the anthill, when the ancestral ants cannot bring food. In this case, products are used that are always stored in abundance by thrifty custodians.
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. Specializations appear in a large colony, and certain duties are assigned to ants.
Interesting facts about ants
- Despite their miniature size, ants can carry objects that weigh five thousand times more than insects.
- This is one of the most intelligent insects: their brain has 250 thousand cells.
- Some species of ants are poisonous, their bites are deadly to humans.
- These are the oldest 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 in relation to each other, and touching care. After an individual is injured, relatives take care of him and even bring food throughout the entire duration of the illness.
- Ants can be under water for several days, and this does not threaten them with negative consequences.
- In addition to the uterus, other females live in the anthill, but not one of them can give birth.