The world around us is fraught with many mysteries and surprises. It is so rich in a variety of species that it is impossible for a simple person to comprehend all the subtleties of nature. Especially numerous representatives of the animal world are insects.
Nomadic ants - features of insects
Every person in his life met ants. These tiny laborers always delight and amaze people. Their work is organized to the smallest detail. Each anthill resident works for the common good. But did you know that there are a huge number of varieties of these insects? And some of them are very dangerous.
African nomadic ants got their name because of their behavior. They do not create their anthill in a particular place, but lead a nomadic life, migrating in colonies from one locality to another.
The movement of the column occurs in the daytime. In 1 hour, ants can overcome from 100 to 300 m. The width of the column can reach 15 m. Then it narrows, forming a kind of tail, the length of which can stretch for 45 m
Nomadic ants, moving in whole colonies, sweep away everything in its path. These insects are dangerous for both animals and humans. The ant bite is very painful, and can cause an allergic reaction in a person, and this, in turn, can lead to anaphylactic shock and suffocation.
Insect habitats
Not only in Africa are nomadic ants. The habitat of these insects is the tropics. Therefore, you can see them on two American continents, in Central and South Asia. Insects like the tropical and subtropical climate.
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The number of colonies can reach 22 million individuals. The largest is the uterus. Its length during oviposition is 5 cm, which is a record among various kinds of ants. The uterus is able to produce a huge number of individuals, so the number of colonies does not decrease. Some insects die, but in their place new nomadic ants immediately come.
The craving for migration is observed only in two subspecies:
During the movement, the ant soldiers are responsible for the defense, so they are concentrated along the edges of the column. The inside is occupied by workers who drag future offspring and food.
Since the movement of the column occurs only in the daytime, at night the ants create a nest from a living labor force, the diameter of which is about a meter. Insects cling to each other with their paws, forming a secluded place for their queen and her offspring. To create such a nest, about 150 - 700 thousand individuals are involved.
Migration does not last long, only a few days, after which a settled phase sets in, which lasts from several weeks to 3 months. During this period, the uterus lays a huge number of eggs (100 - 300 thousand) and by the end of the parking period, larvae will appear from them. At the same time, adult individuals - adults, will leave the cocoons of the previous offspring.
Next, the colony pushes into the path. As soon as the larvae begin to pupate, the time will come for the next parking.
Insect nutrition
A favorite delicacy of ants are insects such as:
The nomadic ants of the African continent also feed on carrion, and it does not matter at all which corpse of which animal they eat, large or small. Stray insects mercilessly absorb everything that they encounter on the way:
- different types of insects;
- the snake;
- bird nests;
- small invertebrates;
- amphibians.
Ants pierce the victim and inject a dose of toxic, poisonous substance into it. Since the speed of insects is not too high (up to 20 km / h), weak, slow and wounded animals most often become their prey.
Do nomad ants have enemies?
Oddly enough, but such a dangerous insect as a nomadic ant still has an enemy - it's a mantis. But the organization of the ant colony is so high that even with such an enemy insects can easily cope. Seeing a praying mantis, one of the ants rushes to it and digs in its jaws, injecting poison. Even if the insect dies, the remaining individuals, upon seeing such a signal, group together and repulse the offender. In this case, the praying mantis will not be envied, it threatens death.
Due to such a collective organization of the column, no one risks hunting ants.
How long do these insects live?
Few people know that the life expectancy of an ant queen reaches 10 - 15 years. Other individuals of the colony live much less, from 2 months to 2 years maximum. Under laboratory conditions, the life span of individual insects was 4 years.
Fascinating facts about nomad ants
- Nomadic killer ants, which carry mortal danger to humanity, are a complete fiction created by the movie industry. Of course, insect bites are a big threat to people who are allergic to toxic substances, but not a single case of human death has been recorded. Therefore, it would be unfair to call nomad ants killers.
- These insects are excellent orderlies. They clear agricultural plantations of various pests.
- On the African continent, nomad ants are the most dangerous predators.
- Insects are able to follow in the footsteps of their relatives.
- Ants have completely no vision, but they have well-developed hearing.
- The queen in the colony has no rights. Her task is to breed new offspring.
- The peoples of Central Africa leave their homes and take livestock away, as soon as information appears that the column of ants is moving in the direction of their locality.
- If nomadic ants move in the direction of the prison, then prisoners who have not committed serious crimes and are not sentenced to death are released for the time of the insect invasion.
Varieties of Dangerous Ants
In our regions, we often meet ants, but all of them do not pose a danger to humans, which can not be said about some species living in a tropical climate. There are species that contain aggressive poison. Dangerous are:
- Siafu - nomadic army ants. Habitat - Australia. The insect has powerful jaws. Like other types of nomadic ants, there is no permanent anthill. Insects build a bivouac (temporary housing), which consists of the bodies of working individuals. Bites are dangerous for humans, as they can cause allergies.
- Bullet ants. These insects have a very strong poison - ponerotoxin. The bite delivers terrible pain that does not subside during the day. This type of insect is found in the tropics and subtropics of the South American continent. The tribes of the Indians used these ants for initiation rites. The young man clung a bracelet to his hand, which was hung with insects. Ants bit the boy, after which his limbs were paralyzed for 2-3 days, and the bite site turned black. The worst thing is that a young man must go through this execution 20 times, and only after that he can be considered a real man.
- Fiery. This species of ants is very dangerous for humans. In one year, about 20 deaths were recorded after a bite, which caused a severe allergic reaction. Habitat: Asia, southern Europe and America. Ants easily adapt to the environment, populating unknown territories. The poison of the fire ant is called solenopsin. The bite feels like pain from a burn, it provokes the formation of a tumor.
- Ant Bulldog. A large insect that is highly toxic. Three out of a hundred bitten people experienced anaphylactic shock. It is very difficult to predict what the body will react to such poison, because it is very different in chemical composition from toxins contained in the sting of bees and wasps.
Nomadic ants, the description of which was considered in the article, are really amazing representatives of the animal world. Their organization and well-coordinated work can only be envied.