The mass of all ants on earth. Ant. Retirement or special status

1. Ants are one of the oldest existing insect species on Earth. Ant fossils have been found that are over 100 million years old.

2. The ants you see today are not very different from the ants that lived on Earth more than 100 million years ago.

3. Ants are almost omnivorous and attack any prey they can cope with, they do not disdain dead insects.

4. There are almost as many ant species (8800) as there are bird species (9000) in the world.

5. Worker ants, constantly busy with "useful" things, sleep very little - less than five hours a day. Moreover, they spend all this time not at once, but stretch it into dozens of small periods lasting about a minute. So, during the day, a worker ant can take a nap up to 250 times. Thanks to this daily routine, more than 80% of the population of the anthill is always awake, which helps the ant colony to always be ready for the unexpected.

6. An ant can lift a load about 100 times its own weight.

7. In Africa and America there are so-called warlike ants, which kill everything that comes in their way, and from which even lions flee.

8. The anthill has its own system of punishments. For example, if a healthy ant-forager (engaged in searching for food) returns to the anthill several times in a row with nothing, he is “executed” - they kill him and let him forage himself. It is curious that ants act completely differently with those who have lost their ability to work as a result of injury. They are fed until they are able to ask for food, that is, tap their antennae on certain parts of the head of a healthy ant.

10. Not all ants are as industrious as it is commonly believed. Observations have shown that 80% of ants are engaged in socially useful work - they clean their homes, collect food; but the rest - beat the buckets. The situation did not change even after the scientists removed some of the "working" ants. The remaining "workaholics" activity boiled with a vengeance, and idlers remained out of work. A possible explanation for such a strange behavior of the latter can be either their advanced age or pathological laziness.

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Determining the required characteristics for ants and termites is very difficult.

This is primarily due to the significant laboriousness of this work, since at present, almost the only way to determine these values ​​is the complete excavation of nests and the selection of all individuals found there, followed by their enumeration and weighing. This largely explains the small number of such excavations carried out to date.

Other methods used for these purposes do not give close to true results. The use of the Lincoln index is hampered by the fact that within both the anthill and the termite mound there is a division of functions between individuals, and only a part of the ants take part in foraging, and the percentage of foragers varies widely depending on the state of the colony and its growth rate, the presence of juveniles. other factors. The use of food labeled with radioactive isotopes also gives large errors due to the continuous exchange of food between all individuals in the same column at different exchange rates in different functional groups.

In addition, it is clear that no matter how the size of the family is determined, its application to each anthill or termite mound taken into account is unrealistic. Therefore, it would be most correct to obtain averaged data on the abundance and biomass of nests of various size classes (for nests with capsules) and sections for nests of sectional type, followed by compiling tables and nomograms for the main types, which can be used to determine the desired values ​​for specific cases.

Since the population of termite mounds is in the thousands, and anthills are in many cases hundreds of thousands and even millions of individuals, it is more convenient to round the data obtained to the nearest order. The value of the size class is determined for each species separately, since the average maximum nest sizes vary greatly depending on the species, area, and settlement conditions. Thus, the largest nests of Formica s. str. reach a diameter of 2.0-2.5 m, Coptoformica - about 1 m, T. caespitum - 0.5 m, etc. To determine the population of individual columns near sectional nests, it is necessary to select anthills that have already formed several sections.

In order to obtain digital Data suitable for further use, it is necessary to process the results of excavations of at least 15 sections or nests belonging to 4-6 size classes for each species of social insects studied and for each zone.

The population density of species that build nest capsules is expressed by two indicators: 1) the number of individuals per 1 ha or m 2; 2) the total area of ​​the bases of the dome per 1 ha. The second indicator is intermediate. However, the use of this value as an indicator of the density of the settlement seems to be legitimate, since the size of the nest is related to the size of the active family inhabiting it. This connection is manifested in most groups of social insects. The area occupied by the nest capsule makes it possible to estimate the population size of individual nests in relative terms. With the accumulation of data on the population of termite mounds and anthills of different sizes, the obtained indicators will also acquire an absolute value. In this way, we obtain values ​​that reflect the density of termite and ant settlements much more accurately than simply counting the nests on the site. Indeed, in the latter case, we equate large and small nests with different populations. This is not true, since here the concept of " population density” is replaced by the concept of “ number of settlements”, which is not equivalent to the first one. Even if the number of settlements is determined, a simple enumeration of nests on the site is hardly correct, since in this case several colonies belonging to one colony will belong to one settlement. Accounting for the population density by the total area of ​​the bases of the nesting capsules makes it possible to avoid such complications.

For species with sectional nests, an intermediate indicator of population density will be the number of sections per unit area.

The population and biomass of anthills and termite mounds are determined differently. For termites, it was shown that the number of individuals in the nest and the ratio of castes and age groups change significantly during the season. Therefore, it is impossible to obtain comparable results from excavations carried out at different phenological dates. The most convenient time for such work is a period of time that fits into one phenological period in the life of a termite mound - from the moment of the general activation of the colony after winter to the start of mass forage harvesting and the construction of ground galleries. In the conditions of Turkmenistan for A. ahngerianus this period falls on April - the first half of May. The population size determined during this period is taken as the "account population", and the biomass of the family in the same period is taken as the "account biomass" - the number and biomass of the family after wintering. In this case, the number and dry weight of individuals functioning in the family (onfertile reproductive individuals, nymphs, soldiers, worker termites, larvae) are taken into account. The biomass of a particular caste or age group is defined as the product of the average weight of an individual of the corresponding group and the number of individuals in it. The total accounting biomass of the termite mound population is equal to the sum of such products for the family.

The weight of winged individuals in the termite mound is not taken into account when determining the accounting biomass of the colony, since the number of these individuals fluctuates sharply from year to year, and the winged individuals themselves, after the imaginal molt, no longer play a functional role in the colony.

Excavations are carried out as follows. First, a part of the nesting capsule is cut out in order to establish the fact that the bulk of termites are in the capsule. If the result is negative (termites are still in deep chambers), the damage is closed and smeared with wet clay. The operation does not affect the further existence of the family. Nests are subject to further excavations, in which at that time the main part of the population is in a capsule. The nesting capsule is immediately completely removed and transferred to a place cleared and covered with polyethylene. The upper layers of soil from under the capsule are also transferred to the place where the material is disassembled. The passages exposed during the excavation of the upper part of the nest are closed with cotton swabs. The seized nesting material is disassembled, and a selection of all termites located there is made. The excavation of the deep parts of termite mounds is carried out parallel to the vertical passages. The layout of passages and chambers in the nest is mapped. Collected termites are sorted into castes and size groups for enumeration and biomass determination.

Estimates of the same characteristics for ants are "conditional population size" and "conditional biomass" - the number and biomass of adults (Dlussky, 1974). Since the number of eggs and larvae in the anthill varies greatly and is controlled by the family, it is not practical to count them. In addition, the size of the nest, apparently, is determined only by the number of adult ants. Compliance with certain excavation deadlines is of less importance here, since ant nests change in size much faster depending on the size of the colony.

The excavation of anthills is carried out by layer-by-layer removal of the ground dome and surface systems of passages and chambers and sampling with tweezers (large species) or exhauster (species with small individuals) of the available adult ants. When assessing species with significant size variability or with caste differentiation of workers (for example, in Pheidole), the conditional biomass of a family is determined as the sum of values ​​for individual size groups and castes.

To determine the average weight of ants or termites, it is necessary to weigh 40–50 individuals, followed by the determination of a weighted arithmetic mean (Plokhinsky, 1961).

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Maybe you remember how in childhood you stumbled upon an anthill and watched with interest the actions of its inhabitants? It boils its own little life, everyone is running somewhere, busy with something ...

1) Ants have complex compound eyes made up of many tiny lenses. They distinguish movement well, but do not have high resolution.

The statement is known that if you weigh all the ants living in the world, then their weight will be equal to the total weight of all people living in the world.

For the first time this assumption was made in the book "The Way to the Ants" by the American entomologist Edward Wilson and the German biologist Bert Helldobler, published in 1994.

“If we consider that ants make up only 1% of this total number of insects, then their population is 10 thousand trillion individuals,” Wilson and Helldobler wrote in their book. “On average, the weight of a worker ant, depending on the species, is 1-5 mg If you add them all together, it turns out that all the ants of the world weigh about the same as all of humanity.

This calculation is based on the notion that the average human weighs a million times the average ant. Is it really? The average human weight is 62 kg, which means that the average ant should weigh about 62 mg.

Average Ant

"Indeed, there are ants that weigh about 60 mg, but these are rare species," says entomologist Francis Ratnieks from the University of Sussex. "Regular ants living in British gardens weigh 1-2 mg."

In fact, no one really knows what the total number of ants in the world is. Even Wilson and Helldobler's calculations are inaccurate. There are currently 7.2 billion people in the world. If you take only adults over 15 years old, their total weight will be about 332 billion kg. If we agree that there are 10,000 trillion ants in the world, each of which weighs about 4 mg, then their total weight will be only 40 billion kg.

But Professor Rantnieks believes that the calculations of Wilson and Helldobler, although incorrect today, reflected reality not so long ago.

"Only 2,000 years ago, ants overtook mankind in weight, but approximately from the end of the 18th century, from the moment America gained independence, mankind began to grow rapidly and surpassed ants in weight."

"It should also be remembered that not only are there more and more people, but that they are getting fatter, so it's not surprising that we left the ants behind," said the British entomologist.

Ants are one of the most common insects in the world. According to some estimates, this family includes just over 12,400 species, in which there are more than 4,500 subspecies. But this figure is not final and is constantly growing. Considering how many species of ants exist on the whole earth, many are interested in knowing which of them are found on the territory of Russia.

General introduction to ants

From a biological point of view, ants are Hymenoptera. Their size varies depending on the species. These are social insects that live in colonies. They build their anthills from small particles in the soil or in wood. These families are well organized and have good communication systems to ensure that all their activities 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 a symbiotic relationship with some insects, plants, fungi and bacteria.

Each member of the colony knows his place and clearly fulfills the role assigned to him.

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

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

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 from several rooms and lay her eggs there. The male never survives. The uterus feeds the larvae with saliva. The first "batch" of released workers begins to engage in construction and food production. After enough worker ants appear, the female is only engaged in laying eggs, and the colony takes care of the larvae (white helpless worms). After five molts, pupae are formed that stop feeding. They produce adult females and workers. This process lasts the entire growing season. Males are reborn only in spring.

The main diet is plant sap from aphid secretions. But while they are taking care of the larvae, the ants are feeding on other insects.

Ants: species in Russia and their features

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

red forest

This species for its habitat chooses mixed, coniferous and deciduous forests that are more than 40 years old. Females and workers are distinguished by a red-brown color. Their length is approximately 7-14 mm. The head of this ant has an oblong shape, and the body is dense. Males 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. Surprisingly, only working individuals, either males or females, emerge from the eggs. It all depends on the needs of the family.

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

meadow ant

Another species common in Russia is the meadow one. The size of this insect varies between 5-11 mm. In meadow ants, the body is covered with villi, and there is a dark spot on the front of the breast. To build a house, they choose meadows, open edges and clearings. This species also breeds aphids. From the anthill to their "pastures" deepened paths were laid, over which sheds were made. Ants have been walking along these paths for years. In addition to aphid secretions, these ant species feed on dead insects. Very rarely eaten alive.

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 make sorties for breeding twice a season. They fall in May and August.

pharaoh ant

This representative belongs to the smallest ants. Their total length is 2-4 mm. They were first discovered in Egypt in mummy tombs. Then Carl Linnaeus described them and gave them a name. This happened in 1758. The small size helped these babies to spread throughout the earth. In Russia, they were seen in 1889. This is how these types of ants became famous. In the world they are found in almost every corner where there are people.

They usually have a yellow color and a dark abdomen. Males are almost black and always winged. This species is very industrious, and in the northern side they settle exclusively in human houses. They prefer darkness and moisture, so they are more common in the crevices of floors, walls, and other voids. Since 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 for reproduction, and after fertilization, working individuals bite off the wings of the uterus. In just a year, the family grows by two thousand inhabitants. The nest is divided, and so they spread throughout the area, growing into huge colonies. It is difficult to fight them, because there may be more than one female in one place. It is interesting that bed bugs cannot get along with these inhabitants, since the acids that come from are deadly for these bed pests.

house ant

These representatives are also among the smallest, their size ranges from 1 to 3 mm. The female and male are dark brown, and the working individuals are distinguished by a 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 as well as on the southern side of the European part of the country.

black ant

This species is also one of the most common and often settles in human homes. Their color is usually black, but sometimes 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 dwellings both in wood and under boulders. Sometimes you can meet a larger black ant - in this case, you stumbled upon another representative, he is called a reaper. This species is known for its propensity for huge stocks in the anthill. They can collect about a kilogram of seeds and insects in order to successfully spend the winter. Interestingly, unlike other ants, they feed their larvae with plant foods, and not with insects.

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

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 the First species are found in the forests stretched from Paraguay to Nicaragua. Its body length is 2.5 centimeters. It arranges its anthill on a tree. Passing under it, you can get caught by this ant, which bravely jumps on a person to protect his colony from the enemy.These insects know how to scream and, before attacking, he makes a call.He is called a "bullet" for a reason.His bite is as piercing and painful as a bullet wound.

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 (about 7-8 mm). These ants do not have a permanent nest. They always roam, arranging a halt only for that small period while the queen lays her 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 life - insects, small and large animals - all those who did not want to hide or fell asleep. A careless victim is covered by hundreds of thousands of powerful soldiers like a wave. These ants are completely blind, so everyone regards them as a threat to their colony. That is why they are not afraid of the size of animals.

These ants are an unusually close-knit people. If necessary, they can create absolutely any figure from their bodies. For example, they make bridges for the colony to overcome an obstacle, or weather walls. To do this, they firmly cling to each other.

Ant Enemies

As we have seen, different types of ants have their own internal structure that 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 ruins anthills, lowering his paws there. The ants “stick around” them, and the bear licks off the treat. Moles and frogs also like to eat these insects, which will not miss the baby running past. In addition, many people know the animal that is called the "anteater". He has a specially adapted muzzle in order to fit into the dwellings of insects. In addition, they are not afraid of their bites, because the hair is so hard and thick that even small ants are unable to get through it. The meat of this animal smells very strongly of these insects and is black in color. But these are not the only enemies of ants, because they are hunted not only by mammals, but by birds and even fish.