Ant. How an anthill works: the internal structure, life and interaction of ants How a colony appears

The species of ants living alone are unknown to science. All of them are kept by large families that have been preserved for many years. The inhabitants of each nest are related to each other, so from a biological point of view, this is precisely the family. But from the standpoint of our human ideas, the anthill is more like a city, the population of which is divided into castes and rigidly organized.

On the this moment 10 thousand species of ants are known; they inhabit all the continents of the Earth (except Antarctica).

winged

If you saw an ant with wings, then in front of you is a representative of one of two special and small ant classes.

The minority in the ant society is the caste of male ants. Their life is short, and their fate is unenviable - after mating with a female, "ant machos" die.

The second caste is egg-laying females ("queens"). They are also few. Depending on the species, from one to several hundred "queens" live in each anthill. The “rulers” live for a long time - with a successful combination of circumstances, each can reign for up to 20 years.

Females and males are winged. During the only nuptial flight in her life, the queen can meet several partners. As a result of this peculiar orgy, she becomes a “machine” for the reproduction of ants for the rest of her life and will lay tens of thousands of fertilized eggs in the future. After mating, the female sheds her wings and is either accepted into an existing anthill, or she establishes a new family.

"Proletariat"

The vast majority of the population of any anthill is the third caste - workers. Although ants are commonly referred to as masculine, they are all physiologically underdeveloped, barren females. They are not supposed to have wings, and the ovipositors are turned into stings - personal combat weapons designed for defense and attack.

Workers ensure the existence of the family. They build and protect the nest, provide the anthill with food, clean and feed the “queens” and “children”, protect the feeding area, ensure the departure of winged individuals, etc. The number of workers in the family varies - from several tens to hundreds of thousands and even 10- 15 million. Life expectancy of six-legged proletarians is from 4 to 7 years.

Career ladder

Usually, during the life of a worker ant, it changes several professions. The young are busy inside the nest: they take care of the female (“retinue”), children, that is, eggs and larvae (“nannies”), and older workers (“grooms”), clean and repair underground chambers and passages (“repairmen”), store water ("ants-barrels").

After working for 1-3 years and gaining experience and qualifications, the ants are transferred to the reserve, where they can rest a bit and allow new generations of young workers to take care of themselves. Approximately a third of the "proletariat" is in reserve, but they must be constantly ready to eliminate the consequences of accidents and natural disasters.

From the reserve, the ranks of "employees" working outside the nest are also replenished - builders, foragers (scouts, hunters or food gatherers), water carriers, orderlies, guards, experienced veteran observers.

Power vertical

In each anthill, a certain ratio of individuals of different groups is clearly maintained. This happens in several ways at once. The management decisions of the “queen” are of the utmost importance. They are brought to subordinates through various substances secreted by various glands of her body.

If there are many egg-laying females in the nest, then new winged individuals do not appear for a long time. But at certain moments, the ruling "queens" feel the approach of old age and stimulate the appearance of young "princesses" and their male partners. To achieve this, the females secrete a special liquid that the "nannies" feed to a limited number of selected larvae. Each of them subsequently grows into a winged female or male - depending on the dose of "nectar" received.

After this, the following often happens: the same “nannies” who have looked after the heirs from the moment they were born, kick them out of their home without sentimentality.

It happens that there are too many larvae of future sexually mature males and females. Then the extra ones are simply eaten - the protein should not be wasted in vain. On the other hand, if there is an overproduction of worker larvae in the nest, then this reduces the fertility of the “queens” for a certain time.

Photo: Shutterstock.com

What is the harm?

Many types of ants are considered useful to humans, but two species - sod and garden ants(black and red) - harm gardens and orchards. In particular, these insects use sweet secretions of sucking pests as an additional (and sometimes main) food source. For this reason, ants protect aphids, psyllids, scale insects and false scale insects from attack by enemies, contribute to their settlement and reproduction. And our plants are left with bloodless leaves contaminated with sticky honeydew, which serves as a breeding ground for sooty fungi.

In addition, the inhabitants of anthills damage the roots, eat the seeds in the soil without a trace and gnaw on the seedlings and seedlings with appetite.

3 "clean" ways to deal with ants

scare them away. Ants do not like certain smells. Spread the leaves of mint, tansy, wormwood, anise in places where insects accumulate.

Or fill the anthill slaked lime, dry mustard or ground pepper. Spill soil around the nest and ant trail vegetable oil- Add a crushed head of garlic to a glass of oil.

Entrance prohibited! On boles of trees, the foliage of which is inhabited by colonies of aphids, you can put on a funnel made of any material with a smooth non-wetting surface and grease the inside of the funnel thin layer vaseline or solid oil. This trap will have to be periodically replaced with a fresh one.

Fill with boiling water. Try late in the evening (since most of the inhabitants of the anthill are “at home” at this time) to fill the nest of ants with boiling water. Repeat this procedure several times - until you are sure of the death of all underground inhabitants. Especially the queens.

In the next issue of our newspaper, we will tell you exactly how worker ants conduct their economic activities, as well as chemical methods of dealing with these insects.

Appearance Anthill Anthill in the cut Life of an anthill

Every nature lover knows how the anthill works, as well as schoolchildren who carefully listen to the teacher. A thorough study of the structure is carried out by scientists - myrmecologists. A single ant seems to be the simplest creature. However, looking at their life inside the anthill, you can see the opposite.

External view of the ant house

From what ants build an anthill, you can see from the outside - dry twigs, sticks, blades of grass, leaves, piles of earth, moss and other building materials that hardworking insects can carry.

From above, the house looks like a cone-shaped mound with small holes - entrances. This form allows the anthill to warm up well in the sun, not get wet in the rain, and get access to oxygen.

The anthill rises above the grass so that the surrounding vegetation does not block the sun's rays. Over the years, they build it up to several meters in height. Raindrops, falling on a numerous layer of sticks, twigs, leaves, roll down, do not penetrate inside. Open entrances, guarded by a large army of soldiers, serve as ventilation shafts through which air constantly circulates.

Interesting!

Insects start building an anthill from birth. Responsibilities are assigned to workers. The female queen is exclusively engaged in the reproduction of offspring, the upbringing of young animals. An anthill with ants is a whole civilization divided into castes. All residents are biological relatives. Every year the height of the anthill increases.

Scientists have recorded the largest building in the Tomsk region - 3 m in height, 5 m in diameter. The anthill was supposedly built for 20 years.

Internal buildings

An anthill from the inside is much more interesting. It amazes with the well-coordinated work of builders, thoughtfulness, ingenuity and tolerance. Inside, the anthill looks like a collection of passages, exits, all kinds of cameras.

The structure goes underground, is divided into 2 parts, accommodates a whole colony of inhabitants.

1. In the upper tier, insects spend most of their time and live in the warm season. The chambers warm up well, are provided ideal conditions to raise offspring.
2. The lower part has similar structures, goes underground by 1-2 meters. There, insects hibernate, wait out cold days, and store food.

Each of these parts is divided into chambers that perform their functions.

1. Queen's room. The uterus lives in it, lays eggs. She is looked after by worker ants who help lay eggs.
2. Egg room. Ants lay eggs here, monitor the provision of proper conditions.
3. room for larvae. The hatched ants are shaped like worms and are particularly gluttonous. They are placed in one chamber in several pieces. Provide food.
4. Food storage. Separately for seeds, grains, aphids, parts of other insects.
5. Garbage warehouse.
6. Tombs for dead ants.
7. A room for wintering, where insects at rest wait out the cold.

The chambers are interconnected by numerous passages, there are several exits, carefully guarded by soldiers. With the approach of danger, the onset of cold weather, the openings of the anthill are closed. A sectional photo of the wonderful structure is shown below.

From birth, there is a division into castes.

1. Most of the family are worker ants. One half provides coziness, comfort inside the structure, the other brings food from external environment, engaged in the construction of a house outside.
2. At the head of the hierarchy is the female, who is also called the uterus, the queen. Fertilized once in young age, gives offspring throughout its long life. Finds a place for the future anthill. In 14 days, full-fledged ants appear from the eggs, mainly a working clan. Taken as a building.
3. A small part of society - young males. Their fate is not so happy. After fertilization, the young females die within 2 weeks.

Each ant has its own individual smell. All the inhabitants of a single anthill differ in a specific aroma. By smell, society distinguishes its inhabitant from a stranger. With the help of specific aromas, they report finding food, danger, heterosexual individuals find each other for fertilization. There are more than a dozen "professions" in the ant society:

• scouts;
• warriors-invaders;
• guard soldiers;
• builders;
• orderlies;
• nannies;
• miners;
• shepherds, milkers;
• transporters;
• nurses;
• guardians of food, nectar;
• midwives.

Interesting!

Life in an anthill goes on for years. If there is a threat of collapses, damage, the ant family starts building other housing in the immediate vicinity, in order to more conveniently drag supplies, eggs, and larvae.

The anthill device resembles Big city with a developed civilization, division into societies, a clear distribution of responsibilities. The simple structure on the outside is the most complex structure on the inside.

appest.ru

How do ants live

long time scientists knew little about how and how long an ant lives. This allows you to get only general information about how their hierarchy is organized, how many legs an ant has, and so on. Scientists have long compiled a complete description of this insect. However, artificial farms and modern facilities for microphotography made it possible to obtain high quality photos and find out interesting facts about the life of these creatures. Such recreated communities allowed scientists to understand whether ants sleep, how their work is organized, where they can be found, what this insect can eat. In other words, scientific characterization of this biological species has become much more complete than it was quite recently.

Despite the widespread belief that all varieties of these insects are predators of the microworld, this is not entirely true. In fact, often people do not even know what ants do in winter, they have no idea about the features of their diet. However, this is not all that scientists learned during the analysis. Interesting facts from the life of these insects were found out. Only recently, scientists managed to find out how much an ant of a particular caste weighs.

Organizing an ant colony

For a long time, insects were considered extremely primitive creatures, but this is not so. They create highly developed communities. These insects are extremely small in size, but thanks to the amazing connection between all members of the colony, they work as a single organism. Now there is more data on how ants live. However, their study continues.

As a rule, ants build stationary houses, but there are also nomadic species of insects that build temporary huts from their own bodies by linking their jaws and paws. In such dwellings, the female, ant eggs and larvae, as well as numerous workers, remain for several weeks, and then the whole colony moves on in search of food.

The construction of a stationary anthill begins with the birth of a mature generation. When favorable conditions are created, the queen produces special ant eggs. This generation is then cared for by workers. Sexually mature males and females leave their native anthill to start breeding and build a new colony.

In one season, hundreds of new anthills can be founded. After the female leaves the birth nest, she mates. The resulting material will be enough for her to produce offspring throughout her life. After mating, the female becomes queen. She immediately begins to prepare to take her place in the hierarchy, so she is looking for a small mink or she digs it herself. In it, she lays the first offspring.

All members of the ant community have different life spans. For example, depending on the species, males live from 2 to 14 days. The queen ant is a real long-liver in the world of insects. The average life expectancy of females is 15 to 20 years. A queen who has found a secluded corner immediately lays a significant number of eggs. Asexual members of a new colony usually live 1 to 3 years.

Ant community life

The built small anthill is constantly expanding. Both its aboveground and underground parts are increasing. Construction never stops, so worker ants work all daylight hours. The structure of the anthill is quite complex and includes not only a lot of transitions, but also the following elements:

The larger the colony, the more departments in such stationary house. Ants hibernate in deep underground passages. The temperature there does not fall below 3-5 °C. Since the ants breed continuously to keep the colony alive, there are several royal chambers in the vast communities. In appearance, any female is a constantly breeding monster. Large anthills need several queens. The number of queens can reach 5-10 individuals to provide a colony with offspring. The development of an ant depends on the characteristics of feeding in the larval form. Reproduction does not stop for a day throughout the warm season.

Ant eggs are unique. Representatives of all castes immediately appear from them, who later build an anthill and perform work for its normal functioning. Workers create a nest and take care of the new generation. They differ in small sizes. Larger individuals are foragers that participate in the search for food. Another caste is represented by soldiers. Ants attack any creature that poses a danger to the community and are ready to die in the fight against the enemy. It is very difficult to list what ants eat in nature, since these insects are omnivores. The diet of creatures includes:

• any insect;
• juices and pulp of berries;
• seeds;
• carrion;
• some types of plants;
• dew;
• wood resin.

These insects can attack prey of any size. Insects can even cope with the predators of the microworld. The bite of an ant allows you to make a wound for injecting poison.

From early morning until late at night, foragers roam in search of food. Then the food gets to the uterus, larvae and other members of the colony. These creatures do not need to sleep, but they do not work at night.

Any forager can carry as much as an ant weighs. In some cases, these creatures carry loads 5-10 times their size. own weight. Recently, scientists were able to determine how much an ant weighs after drinking nectar or juice. They attribute the nutrient fluid to other relatives. Therefore, the weight of the ant fluctuates significantly.

/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/video.mp4

Representatives of some species can winter even in the most severe conditions, where the cold persists 9 months a year. How ants prepare for winter has already been fairly well studied. Insects clog all entrances and move to the lower sections, where the temperature is maintained, which is not detrimental to insects. Ants don't sleep, they just slow down their metabolic processes.

Why do ants live in colonies

New facts about these creatures are emerging even now, despite the fact that ants have been known to mankind since ancient times. Only recently have the ancient ancestors of these unusual creatures been identified. We all know what an ant looks like. The structure of an ant resembles a wasp. This is no coincidence. Not only the study of the anatomy of these insects made it possible to reveal such a relationship. Many fossil early forms have now been discovered that have even more in common with wasps. Photos of these ancient creatures, sealed in amber, confirm their similarity. Ant venom and strong jaws are inherited by modern ants from their ancient ancestors.

Huge bulldog ants have retained the sting they inherited from their distant ancestors. This species is archaic. The bite of an ant is extremely painful. Most species of these insects have lost not only their stingers, but also their wings in order to live on and under the surface of the earth. It was from the ancient wasps that they adopted the principle of hostel life, but over time, their colonies acquired more complex structure. Insects can communicate with each other. They leave pheromone trails to help them find prey. Such communication is effective and justifies itself. The study of the substances secreted by these insects made it possible to find out how the ants find their way home. Pheromones help to identify strangers and drive them away from the anthill. Insects communicate with each other using rhythmic low-frequency tapping. This allows you to determine whether the encountered individual is a friend or foe. Some species of these insects use abdominal vibration in the process of communication.

The benefits and harms of ants

Insects can live in a variety of ecological zones, so they often conflict with people. Ants spread aphids that feed on the juices of various plants and trees, contributing to their weakening. Ants can damage agricultural plantings, which can lead to the death of the entire crop. But the benefits of ants are also there. Many people do not even suspect what benefits ants bring, but this is very important. These creatures can destroy an incredible number of caterpillars and other insects that harm crop plants in a season. The benefits of ants have been proven. They don't just hurt.

poklopu.ru

Anthill - a city in miniature

At first glance, the anthill seems to be a disorderly heap of branches, coniferous needles, grass and earth. However, in fact, a real city lives its own life inside this unsightly heap. Here everyone knows his place, everything is subject to a strict routine. These tiny insects, not having a highly developed intellect, nevertheless, ants quickly capture any suitable territories and form numerous colonies.

How is an anthill arranged?

Most often there are dome-shaped anthills, but sometimes ants prefer to settle in rotten tree trunks, large old stumps. In regions with extremely hot climates (for example, deserts), insects build their dwellings exclusively underground. The insides of an ordinary anthill consist of large fragments of branches. Between them there are many galleries leading to individual chambers. The height of the structure varies from 30 cm to 2 m, the underground part often exceeds the ground area. The outer covering consists of small twigs, needles, grains of sand and reliably protects ants from dampness, wind and cold.

The internal chambers of the anthill can be divided into the following categories:

• "solarium" - a small chamber under the very dome of the anthill, insects bask in it during the warm season;
• "cemetery" - in this room there are waste and dead individuals;
• "wintering chamber" - located below the soil level, in it the ants survive the cold, plunging into suspended animation;
• "queen's room" - here is the uterus, which is engaged in laying eggs;
• "granary" - designed to store seeds of grasses and trees;
• "nurseries" - chambers in which eggs ripen and ant larvae are born;
• "refrigerator" - they store the corpses of insects, worms and caterpillars.

Each sexually mature insect has a clear idea of ​​the location of the chambers. An increase in the anthill leads to the expansion of existing chambers and the construction of new premises. In places where there are large reserves of resources for ants (water, cereals, insects of other species), dwellings can reach gigantic sizes. In some cases, the colony population may exceed 1.5 million individuals.

Inside the dwelling, a positive temperature is constantly maintained (26-29 degrees Celsius). For this purpose, the needles and branches from the lower layer of the coating are transferred to the surface, ventilated and dried. This process is continuous, about a third of the worker ants are involved in it. Thanks to their efforts, favorable conditions are created for the development of larvae and the preservation of food reserves.

How is an ant colony organized?

Often the social hierarchy within an ant colony is compared to the structure of a bee hive. These two species are similar in many ways, but still the behavior of ants is much more complicated. Just like in human society, these insects have a strict division into classes. Each mature individual has its own purpose.

Depending on a set of certain qualities, each insect is assigned to a particular social post. This takes into account the personal qualities of the individual - excessive aggressiveness, acute sense of smell, reaction speed. In the hierarchy of any anthill there are the following categories of individuals:

• invaders - the most aggressive group in the anthill, attacks neighboring colonies, seizes territories;
• orderlies - isolate sick and wounded ants, if necessary, play the role of surgeons - the injured limb is often amputated (gnawed off);
• builders are one of the largest social groups. They are engaged in the repair of premises, the external coating of the dwelling. Throughout life, they dig new tunnels, carry needles and twigs, maintain the microclimate inside the anthill;
• nannies - take care of the offspring, from the appearance of an egg to the maturation of an individual. They are constantly near the larvae, turn over, control the process of hatching from eggs and feed the growing offspring;
• guards - they protect the entrances and exits of the anthill, in case of an attack they attack the enemy and prevent him from getting inside the dwelling. Among this category there are the most losses, attacks on neighbors are a common thing for neighboring colonies. In addition, birds and some animals love to eat ants, and the guards never leave their posts, protecting the entrance to the last.
• foragers. The largest group in the colony. Their mission is to get food for the entire anthill. Every day, miners go in search of food - grass seeds, dead and weakened insects, fruits and berries. If one ant finds a large insect (caterpillar, beetle), then with the help of special signals it communicates with fellow tribesmen, “telling” about the prey. Together, insects can drag even a dead rodent. Often there are attacks on weakened or injured bees, worms, mice. From numerous bites, the victim dies and becomes food for the colony;
• shepherds. Another amazing feature of these insects is that they have peculiar pets. Grass aphids feed on plants, and the liquid released in the process - honeydew - is collected by ants. This liquid is a waste product of aphids, has a sweetish taste and is a kind of delicacy for insects. The carbohydrates contained in the honeydew provide the ants with energy. Therefore, aphids are collected in a kind of “herds” and protected in every possible way (for example, from theft by ants from neighboring colonies). To increase the amount of honeydew, shepherds tickle the belly of their cows, stimulating the production of a valuable substance;
• carriers - work together with shepherds, their main task is to carry honeydew to special chambers. If necessary, they engage in battle with the invaders;
• storekeepers - responsible for maintaining stocks inside the cells. Monitor maintenance temperature regime and stock safety. It is on them that the life of the colony depends. winter months, since the competent conservation of food resources ensures the prosperity of the anthill;

Depending on the habitat, special “professions” appear. For example, leaf-cutting ants that live in forests collect the leaves of certain trees and plants. After they are transferred to the anthill, twisted in a special way and used to grow mushrooms, which are one of the main products in their diet.

Ant life in an anthill

Each ant colony, regardless of species, has one or more queens. This is a large sexually mature individual, a characteristic difference is large transparent wings. They are necessary to search for males, immediately after successful fertilization, the need for them disappears and they disappear. The life span of the queen is 3 to 6 years, almost twice as long as the average worker. There are cases when the queen lived up to 13 years, while insects live longer in regions with a temperate climate. Male drones live the least, their life span is not more than a month. After fertilization of the uterus, they are killed as unnecessary.

The fertilized queen lays her eggs in the deepest and most extensive chamber of the anthill, deep underground. This is necessary to protect offspring from predators, temperature changes and other dangerous factors. The way of life of the queen for each species is different. Yes, wild forest ants have several hundred young unfertilized females in the colony. After mating, females lay eggs throughout the forest, next to them new colonies form.

Ants living next to humans always have several dozen male drones in the colony. The vast majority of the population consists of underdeveloped females. In a small colony, there is only one queen uterus, carrying out the continuation of the family. If the conditions in the house or apartment are favorable (warmth, dampness, unsanitary conditions), then the number of ants increases rapidly. In this case, there are several new queens capable of reproduction. These females do not form new colonies, but remain part of the existing one. Of course, with an increase in the number of queens, the spread of ants around the house accelerates.

Ant Relationships

Among these small insects there is also a peculiar struggle for power. For example, in colonies of red ants, cases of colonies of another species were observed. The queen uterus finds a colony of black or forest relatives weakened as a result of the attack and takes the place of the dead queen. After she lays eggs, and when red ants hatch from them, they actually enslave a colony of another species.

The reverse situation also takes place. During the attack of one anthill on another, soldiers steal the eggs of opponents and take them to themselves. After the hatched insects become servants and work all their lives for the benefit of a foreign colony. The life of many varieties of tropical ants is built on this principle: for example, Amazon ants are exclusively engaged in attacks on neighbors and capturing larvae, work inside their dwellings and life support occur exclusively at the expense of slaves.

The anthill is not the best neighborhood

Of course, forest ants bring invaluable benefits - the destruction of carrion, maintaining the population of birds and small animals. It is categorically impossible to ruin the housing of forest orderlies, but to endure the neighborhood in own house or apartment is unacceptable. That is why, at the first sign of the appearance of these insects in the house, measures must be taken - getting rid of trash, the use of folk methods of struggle. If the moment is missed and the colony has reached an impressive size, the best solution would be to contact specialists.

vermins.net

How ants fight for their anthill

The ant colony fights off an air attack. Ants shoot acid into the air, scaring away predators such as woodpeckers and jays. According to the author of the pictures, acid does not cause burning when it comes into contact with the skin of the hands, but it has strong smell reminiscent of the smell of fried potatoes with fish.

Let's take a closer look at them...

Well, let's learn more about the life of ants.

Ants are a secret society, one of a million scattered around the globe. For millions of years they have been exchanging encrypted information and laying secret paths. Only now are we beginning to recognize them, only getting close to their secret codes.

In some ways, ants are like aliens. They can carry loads up to 100 times their weight. They can hang upside down on smooth glass. They consume huge amounts of food and travel very long distances. Each ant has considerable power, and acting together they turn into a super-civilization.

Forest ants pave roads in search of food. Each colony of this species has hundreds of thousands of individuals. And like any community, it must be constantly supplied with food. But how do ants find food and how do they deliver it to the anthill? At first glance, their activity may seem chaotic, but in fact it is not. The ants somehow coordinate efforts, which allows them to attack larger insects, kill them and drag them into the anthill. The work of ants is organized very efficiently. Such a colony eats about 10 million insects per year.

The anthill is one of the most amazing structures. What is the secret of ants and what allows them to be the most formidable predators on Earth, consuming more food than lions, tigers and wolves combined?

Forest ants do not care who destroys their anthill - a predator or a scientist ... they react the same way. Worker ants shoot formic acid into the air. The life of an individual does not matter. The survival of the entire colony is important. Ants behave like a single superorganism that is able to withstand the attack of any predator, even a bear. About 10 thousand larvae and pupae are hidden in the depths of the anthill, they are the future of this superorganism. To get to them, the bear needs to overcome a thick cloud of acid fumes. Ants are ready to protect their offspring at the cost of their own lives. The acid burns the bear's eyes and nose. The predator usually retreats, preferring to find prey easier.

Food of animal origin is necessary for larvae, while adult ants feed on honeydew, which is secreted by forest aphids. It contains a lot of sugar and vitamins. Ants protect and take care of aphids as pets. The volume of consumed nectar is very significant. Medium colony forest ants eats 100 kg of honeydew per year.

In the jungles of Indonesia, such partnerships between ants and insects of other species are even more developed. Ants go to powerful inflorescences, where their wards - honey beetles graze. These tropical ants, like their forest relatives, they feed on the sweet secret secreted by other insects. Like shepherds who move their flocks to new pastures, ants carry their wards from flower to flower, where there is more nectar. These insects are typical shepherds - nomads. Together with their domesticated beetles, they migrate from one plant to another. Only humans and ants have pets.

To wait out the approaching thunderstorm, ants drive their beetles under large leaves. How ants sense the approach of rain is a mystery, but their forecast is always accurate. Such a relationship is beneficial to both parties: the beetles get a transfer to the best flowers, and the ants have an almost unlimited supply of food. Ants are more adept at building these kinds of relationships.

To find out how well ants stick to slippery surfaces, scientists conducted an original experiment. Ants - tailors were put in a centrifuge, a miniature copy of the one in which cosmonauts are trained. Even with a hundredfold overload, the ants stay on the surface of smooth glass. A person would not have survived such a test. The secret lies in the thinnest sticky film covering their paws. Ants-tailors use their tenacity in the construction of dwellings. With their jaws, they draw the leaves close to each other and hold them in this position until the workers glue the linked leaves together.

Where did these come from? wonderful insects? Ants evolved from wasps over 100 million years ago. Some species have preserved individual features that make them related to their ancestors. For example, Australian ants - bulldogs have a wasp sting. In this species, unlike others, worker ants are not inferior to the queen in size and even retain the ability to lay eggs. True, their eggs go to feed the larvae, because only the queen is entrusted with the right to produce a new generation. Bulldog ants differ not only in this. Their community is organized somewhat differently. They have no division into castes. When the queen mother dies, several female worker ants, capable of fertilization, claim her place. The winner is determined at the jousting tournament. Ants stand in front of each other and menacingly drive from side to side with their jaws and antennae. But fights, even ritual ones, are rare in the ant world. Usually insects work peacefully side by side for the benefit of their ant state.

Science knows several thousand species of ants. This is a very successful developing group of insects, which owes its prosperity not to the strength of individual individuals, but to a clear and verified organization of the entire community.

Ants are an extremely diverse family of insects, but they all have one thing in common. common feature- they live in communities in which a developed system social relations. Ants are not found alone in nature. In the course of evolution, it turned out that only 3-5% of the species of living beings lead a social lifestyle. Among them is the species to which we belong - Homo Sapiens. It is worth noting that these species play a dominant role in any ecosystem.

Leaf-cutting ants have created the most perfect type of ant state. The activity of the colony is comparable to the well-coordinated movements of a huge hand extended to food. The process of gathering food is so well organized among ants that even Argentine shepherds have to reckon with them. Ants - leaf cutters live in huge underground cities. Ants scare shepherds not by their numbers, but by their organization. They are so efficient in preparing feed that they are a real competitor to domestic animals.

How do they do it?

The answer lies in three concepts: specialization, cooperation and communication. The first specialists of a narrow profile are, directly, leaf cutters. They have powerful jaws, large heads and developed muscles. Their task is to gnaw through the stalks of grass. If the stem is too thick, the ants act in a brigade fashion. Sheet cutters make blanks of a certain length, convenient for transportation.

Then the porters take over. They are smaller and more elegant than their relatives. porters drag the cut grass up to 50 meters and stack it. Another team carries them further, to the anthill. Ants lay real clearings up to 300 meters long, diverging in different directions from underground city. Each underground anthill harvests about half a ton of grass per year.

The organization of ants is striking. The coordination of their actions is especially noticeable during a situation that is dangerous for the colony. With the destruction of the dwelling of ants, the main thing for them is the survival of future generations - larvae and pupae. Once the larvae are safe, the ants start looking for a new home. Scout ants scatter in all directions, leaving a scent trail behind them. An ant that finds a suitable place marks it. Other scouts follow this trail. They also mark the places they like. As a result, the site for a new home is determined by biochemical democracy. Nobody orders anyone. The desired point is selected collectively, based on the intensity of odors. The larvae-pupae are transferred to a new dwelling along an invisible path, marked only by a smell. So a new location was selected using a chemical communication system. This scheme is simple and effective. Ants don't need bosses. These hard workers themselves are able to find the best place to live. Chemical communication is the key to understanding the success of these enigmatic insects.

In most ant species, the queen is the head of the colony. She reports the onset of the fertilization period with a specific smell. The sex of the offspring is regulated in a special way. From fertilized eggs, females are born - these are future queens and worker ants. Males appear from unfertilized ones, whose role is reduced only to mating. The life of a male is very short, but he can become a father even 20 years after his death. Sperm is stored in the uterus in a specially designated place long years. We can say that ants invented the sperm bank millions of years ago. In the body of the uterus, the sperm remains viable from 10 to 20 years, and in some cases even longer.

The smell of a huge queen pervades the entire underground city. It is the smell that informs the ants about the state of the queen, and while she is healthy, the working individuals remain barren and do not lay eggs. Chemical signals govern the life of the colony, they also give the command to swarm, i.e. to the emergence of sexually mature individuals. Scientists have not yet learned how to predict this moment.

In winter, leaf cutters climb trees in search of food and quickly get used to new conditions. Large working individuals gnaw off leaves entirely. Leaves are dropped to the ground. It would not be rational to drag them down. Downstairs, another team takes over. large leaves gnawed into pieces, convenient for transportation. Porters use a chemical alarm system. The more food, the more porters dragging it, the stronger the odorous trail they leave. By smell, new porters rush to the rescue. The community organizes itself. But odorous substances are not the only way to transmit information.

Scientists have found that leaf cutters still have the opportunity to inform relatives about the location of food. The ant, it turns out, “sings” a high-frequency song with its belly. Vibration through the head is transmitted to the plant. Ants sing this song when they find delicacies. Other leaf cutters with their legs feel the vibration at a distance of up to a meter - in this way additional forces are convened to harvest especially high-quality leaves.

Is there a force in the world that can destroy the work of this well-established system? Unfortunately, there is such power. Usually the old grass is burned to prepare the land for the next season. Zala fertilizes the soil and increases pasture productivity. Ants do not know what fire is, they do not know how to resist it and do not flee. They continue to do their job like robots until they burn to death. Fire devours grass and destroys ant trails. Everything turns to dust. Chaos reigns. Deprived of scent indicators, the ants scatter in different directions. But the ant state does not give up. porters pave new trails, leaving scent marks behind. The chemical commands that regulate life are the secret to the organization of ants.

Ants are great specialists in the field of information transfer. Their whole life is built on this. Without this, such an amazing coordination of their actions would not have been possible. It is thanks to ants that we have made a number of discoveries, for example, in the field of chemical bonding.

Ants seem to be mysterious and incomprehensible creatures because we do not understand their language of communication, which is based on smell, not visual perception. Ants are attracted not only by their own smell. For example, wood ants cannot resist the smell of resin. Sometimes, while collecting resin, insects fall into a trap. History repeats itself over and over again for millions of years. It is thanks to this that we have learned a lot about the evolution of ants. Resin, eventually turning into amber, seems to preserve insects. Why do ants fall into this trap? In fact, they need dried resin and they spend a lot of effort collecting it and dragging it into the anthill. Having taken on a load 10 times their own weight, they run a marathon distance with it. They are not even embarrassed by the inconvenient shape of the frozen pieces of resin. Why do they spend so much energy?

They distribute the resin throughout the anthill. Resin is medicine. It contains a substance that destroys fungus and bacteria. Every time the ant runs through the resin, it disinfects itself, in this way the forest ants provide a healthy atmosphere inside the anthill.

Leaf cutter ants also have to contend with various bacteria. They themselves feed on the fungus they grow. Grass and leaves inside the anthill turn into compost, in which the desired fungus develops. To protect their underground plantations from harmful bacteria, ants treat all the mass they bring to the nest with an antibiotic that they themselves produce. The life of the entire colony depends on the safety of the entire plantation. Some ants never leave the underground city at all. These individuals are much smaller than the others in size. They are engaged in weeding the beds and caring for the growing offspring. Underground plantations must be constantly ventilated: for the growth of the fungus, certain temperature and humidity.

The air conditioning system allows you to maintain in the depths of the anthill optimal temperature, humidity and concentration of gases. When compost rots, it produces a large number of carbon dioxide, along with warm air this gas escapes through the ventilation shafts. How do these tiny creatures manage to create their own microclimate? How does this superorganism manage to build this underground city-state. The ventilation system of the anthill is very complex and to understand it you need to get inside the anthill. Scientists have also discovered special garbage pits where waste products and waste material from fungal plantations are dumped. Pits are needed not only to maintain the frequency. Decay of waste and fresh compost occurs at different temperatures, which leads to the formation of different air flows. Air saturated carbon dioxide pushes up and pumps in from the outside Fresh air.

The next stage of the study is to show what the underground city looks like inside. To do this, cement is poured into the anthill. The amount of cement required amazed scientists ... 10 tons of mortar went underground in 3 days. Excavations began a month later. It took more than one week to figure out the structure of the underground city. With the help of a bulldozer, scientists dug up tons of earth and, finally, ant city opened before them.

The main areas of the underground city are interconnected by tunnels - freeways, in addition to them, there is a whole system of highways and paths that go to every fungal plantation and every garbage pit.

Tunnels provide good ventilation and are the shortest communication routes.

It looks like it was all built according to a single plan of a brilliant architect, but of course it is not. A huge, most complex city in structure was created by the collective will of all the inhabitants of the colony - an ant superorganism. Anthill takes 50 square meters and goes underground for 8 meters.

During its construction, the ants had to dig up 40 tons of earth. Billions of times, porters have dragged on themselves a load that is four times the weight of each of them. By human standards, this weight was dragged up the narrow tunnel for almost a kilometer. The construction of such a structure is comparable to the construction of the Great Wall of China, and without exaggeration it can be called one of the wonders of the world.

Ants never cease to amaze us. Ant - the tailor can move upside down on smooth glass. It can withstand hurricane-force winds. Any ant can easily outdo any world champion in weightlifting. Holding on a smooth surface upside down, the ant holds a weight 100 times its own. These tiny creatures are amazing. Not a single vertebrate creature, including humans, is capable of such a test. But what makes ants truly invincible is their ability to work together. Some of them plant gardens and kitchen gardens, entering into alliances with plants and fungi, others - pastoralists graze aphids and honey beetles.

The secret power of ants lies in their cooperation, which is based on an invisible odor system of relationships. This organizing principle is capable of uniting millions of individuals, which will act as a single superorganism. The priority of public interests over the needs of everyone turns these tiny insects into a real super-community, into a secret force of nature.

There is a great quote from Lewis Thomas on this score: “Ants are so much like us humans that it’s even somehow embarrassing. They grow mushrooms, raise aphids as milk cows, send armies of soldiers to war, spray chemicals to scare and confuse the enemy, capture slaves, exploit child labour and constantly exchange information. In short, they do everything except they don’t watch TV”

Ants are almost like humans. There is an initial set of qualities: aggressiveness, intelligence, enterprise, speed of reactions, the ability to interact with others. Depending on them, each ant gets his profession.

The queen of ants is the uterus - a sexually mature female. The uterus is able to establish a new anthill. To do this, she digs a small underground corridor, where she later lays her eggs.

Ants have a specialty - a security guard. It is received by those individuals who show aggressiveness early. Of course, they also have intelligence, but not as developed: it is not so important for soldiers to reason - they must rush to protect common resources without any hesitation.

Another profession is honeydew pickers. In a sense, ants have their own pets. Aphids feed on plant sap and secrete drops of a sweetish liquid called honeydew. Mutually beneficial cooperation has been established between ants and aphids. Ants collect honeydew - for them it is tasty and nutritious food, the main source of carbohydrates. And as a return service, they protect their green cows from predators.

There is also a division of labor among honeydew collectors. You can, of course, alone get the treasured drop of sweet liquid and drag it into the anthill yourself. But this is irrational from the point of view of logistics.

Therefore, there are ants that work as shepherds (or milkers): they tickle aphids, providing high milk yields. And the resulting products are transported by others.

Ants carefully monitor the condition of their homes. An average-sized anthill consists of 4-6 million needles and twigs. Every day, hundreds of builder ants carry them from above into the depths of the anthill, and from the lower floors to the top.

This ensures a stable moisture regime of the nest, and therefore the dome of the anthill remains dry after rain, does not rot or mold.

Even in the anthill there are hospitals where doctors, for example, surgeons, work. And if one of their inhabitants injured a limb, that is, an arm or a leg, then the surgeons amputate it (bite off).

Also necessarily in the ant family there are "custodians" of nectar. They are needed for that unforeseen case, if there is a famine in the anthill and the worker ants can no longer get food.

Slavery is common in some species. Ants attack someone else's anthill and steal pupae. Raised then in someone else's anthill, the captives work for his good.

Another thing is surprising: in the ant family, no “think tank” is found that would manage the common efforts to achieve the desired result, be it repairing the anthill, getting food or protecting it from enemies. Moreover, the anatomy of an individual ant - a scout, a worker, or an ant queen - does not allow one to place this "think tank" in an individual ant.

Too small physical dimensions its nervous system, and the volume of programs and data accumulated by generations necessary to control the life of the anthill is too large.

Anthill in section

01. Coating of needles and twigs. Protects the dwelling from the vicissitudes of the weather, is repaired and updated by worker ants.

02. "Solarium" - a chamber heated by the rays of the sun. In the spring, the inhabitants come here to warm themselves.

03. One of the entrances. Guarded by soldiers. Serves as a ventilation channel.

04. "Cemetery". This is where worker ants carry dead brethren and garbage.

05. Wintering chamber. Insects gather here to survive the cold in a state of semi-hibernation.

06. "Bread barn". This is where the ants store grain.

07. The royal chamber, where the uterus lives, laying up to one and a half thousand eggs a day. She is cared for by worker ants.

08. Chambers with eggs, larvae and pupae.

09. "Cowshed" where ants contain aphids.

10. "Meat pantry", where foragers bring caterpillars and other prey.

If you liked this material, then we offer you a selection of the best materials on our site according to our readers. Compilation - TOP interesting facts and important news from around the world and about different important events you can find where it is most convenient for you

At first glance, an anthill may seem like a chaotic heap of coniferous needles, branches, earth and grass. In fact, inside this unsightly heap, a real city lives its own life. Each of its inhabitants knows his place, everything here is subject to the strictest routine. These tiny insects, who do not have a highly developed intellect, capture any territory suitable for their existence.

Ants: general characteristics

Ants are insects that live in almost all corners of our planet, with the exception of Greenland and Antarctica, as well as some oceanic islands. They settled not only steppes, forests, but also deserts. There are 13.5 thousand 300 of them distributed on the territory of our country.

Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, the type of arthropods, the class of insects, the family of ants. These are social insects with a clear division into three castes: males, females, and also working individuals. These little hardworking creatures cannot live alone, so they always create colonies.

Physiological features

In the structure of the body of these insects, three parts covered with a chitinous membrane are distinguished: the head, as well as the chest and abdomen connected by a thin waist. The eyes, which consist of many lenses, distinguish movement, but do not give a clear image. Ants move with the help of six thin legs with claws at the ends, which allow the insect to climb up.

Antennae, arranged segmentally, are located on the head. These are the organs of touch, which not only capture smells, 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 over size working individuals. Females have wings that fall off after the 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 by their appearance.

It depends on a number of factors. Insect species and caste, habitat, season - these are the main reasons that affect how long ants live in natural conditions. Worker ants live an average of one to three years. Do more small species life expectancy is shorter than that of 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 fall prey to predators. The longest-lived individual in the ant kingdom is the uterus. In some species, its life expectancy reaches 20 years.

Stages of building an anthill

The construction of an ant house begins with the appearance of a mature generation. At favorable conditions the queen (womb) lays ant eggs. In the future, workers take care of them. Sexually mature females and males leave their anthill to build a new colony and breed.

It is interesting to watch how ants build an anthill. First, they find and carefully examine a place for a new home. For them, it is important that there are no dead ants in the selected area, it is desirable that there be "driven" prey (large caterpillar, frog, beetle, a bunch of sugar, seeds and mushrooms). The place should be in the shade, have normal humidity and ventilation.

Ants build a common house from various blades of grass, leaves, earth, and bark. Construction material 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 both in depth and in height.

Exterior view of the ant house

The anthill outwardly resembles a mountain of blades of grass, twigs, pieces of soil, but in reality it is a well-organized dwelling, inside which an interesting life is in full swing. From above, the anthill device is a cone-shaped mound with small openings-entrances. This form is not accidental - it allows the anthill to warm up well in the sun, not to get wet in the rain, to get the necessary access of 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 ant house air is constantly flowing. Scientists have discovered a huge anthill 3 meters high and about 5 meters in diameter. Experts believe that this building was built for about 20 years.

Internal organization

From the inside, the anthill amazes with the thoughtfulness, well-oiled work of the builders. Inside, this structure is a collection of passages - an 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 chambers warm up perfectly, all the conditions for raising offspring are created here. The lower part, going underground for one and a half to two meters, has similar structures. It is designed for wintering insects that wait out the cold season underground, store food supplies.

Each of this part is divided into cameras that perform certain functions:

1. Queen's room. The uterus lives in it, and it lays eggs there. She is cared for by worker ants who lay eggs.
2. Egg storage. Ants bring eggs here, monitor the provision of conditions for their development.
3. Chamber for larvae. The hatched ants resemble worms in shape and are distinguished by insatiable voracity. They are placed in several pieces in one chamber and provided with food.
4. Provided in the anthill device and a food storage chamber. And there are separate rooms for grains, seeds, parts of insects, aphids.
5. Warehouse for garbage storage.
6. 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 are closed.

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

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

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

How does a colony appear?

To find out how the life of ants in an anthill proceeds, it is necessary to start with the birth of a new offspring. Once a year, male and female ants emerge from eggs, ready to procreate. Females have wings and for mating they scatter 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 actively lay eggs.

At first, she survives thanks to an impressive fatty layer, but when the first representatives of the offspring are born, they provide the uterus with everything it needs. The ant queen mates only once, but at the same time she has enough sperm for her whole life to reproduce offspring.

Ants live in large colonies that persist for several years. All members of such a colony are relatives. From a social point of view, the anthill for ants can be considered a city, the population of which is divided into castes and well organized. Experts believe that a parallel civilization is developing under our feet.

If people interact through speech, facial expressions and gestures, then ants communicate by 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 using pheromones. So they inform their relatives about the danger or the place where the food is.

The division into castes

Most of the colony is made up of worker ants. Half of them provide coziness and comfortable living inside the building, the other takes care of food supplies, is engaged in outdoor construction of the house. The head of the hierarchy is the female, who is often called the uterus or queen. It is she who, having fertilized at a young age, gives offspring all her life and finds a place for an anthill.

After two weeks, ants appear, usually a working clan. They are the ones who take over the construction. Young males make up a small part of the colony. Their fate is unenviable - after fertilization of the female, they die within two weeks.

Ant "professions"

There are many of those. Among them:

1. Warriors-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 someone else's anthill.
2. Builders. They maintain the state and structure of the anthill, build new communications and tunnels. As the population of the colony increases, every day hundreds of builder ants carry twigs and needles from above to the deeper layers of their house, and from the lower floors they lift them up. This maintains stable humidity. Thanks to this, the dome of the anthill does not grow moldy and does not rot.
3. orderlies. Sick ants are isolated from society, if the patient's paw is damaged, the orderlies amputate it - they simply bite it off.
4. Getters. Their main task is to find and then neatly store food.
5. Guards. These individuals reliably protect the entrances to the anthill from strangers and ensure the safety of the larvae and the queen.
6. 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 for them and a source of carbohydrates.
7. Transporters - carry pad to the anthill.
8. Maternity workers. They transfer eggs to special compartments and are responsible for maintaining the desired temperature.
9. Guardians of Nectar. These workers are needed in case of famine in the anthill, when the ants-producers will not be able to bring food. In this case, products are used that are always stored in abundance with thrifty keepers.

Depending on the number of insects living in the anthill, there is a division of labor. In a small family, the principle of interchangeability is practiced. Specializations appear in a large colony, and certain duties are assigned to ants.

• Despite their miniature size, ants can carry objects that weigh five thousand times more insects.
• These are one of the most intelligent insects: their brain has 250,000 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 take care of him throughout the entire illness and even bring food.
• Ants can stay under water for several days, and this does not threaten them. negative consequences.
• In addition to the uterus, other females also live in the anthill, but none of them can give birth.

Ants are insects, the abundance of which is so great that there are about a million of their species. Ants, in fact, can be compared with a society of people - they are also divided into certain strata of society with their rulers, workers and soldiers. Moreover, ants are distinguished by amazing self-organization (some people should learn from these millimeter workers) and coherence in work. How is an ant colony organized?

Ant farm 900 times faster

Insect interaction - ant communication

We, humans, interact through speech, gestures, facial expressions, but ants do not have such an opportunity. They communicate different ways, the simplest of which is trophollaxis - food exchange. Ants-getters (they are called foragers) bring a certain amount of food to the anthill. Each ant takes the required amount of food for itself, and then passes it on to the rest of the ants. But this method of communication is not suitable for interspecies. Another way to communicate is through smell. Each ant has its own smell, which is unique. In addition, each ant family has its own shades, which allows you to determine the penetration of a stranger by smell. Finally, ants communicate using pheromones. They use them mainly to indicate the location of food or to warn of danger (anxiety pheromone).

Ants. The secret power of nature.

How is an anthill arranged?

An anthill consists of huge amount variety of materials brought by hardworking ants - needles, sticks, etc. has a conical shape that rises above the tops of plants. It is not in vain that ants build an anthill in the form of a cone - thanks to this shape, the rain rolls down in all directions, practically without getting inside. If the anthill were below the level of the grass, then the sun's rays would not get inside, and the ants would not be able to bask in the sun.

Ants warm their pupae and larvae under the rays of the sun, in the upper sections of the anthill, with south side. But the loose cone is a wonderful refuge for ants, as in hot weather. summer days, and in cold winter.

We can say that ants have " winter apartment" and " summer cottage". Thanks to the ingenious "project" of the anthill, they spend summer in a summer cone, and winter in earthen passages.

Inside an ant colony

How is an ant colony organized? Life in an anthill

An anthill is complex, even more complex than a beehive. Ants are very similar to humans in their way of life. They are divided into social strata. There are slaves there (just like in the Middle Ages!), healers, warriors, hard workers. Ants are actively engaged in breeding "pets". For example, often near the anthill you can see paths diverging in all directions, many of which lead to trees. There is nothing surprising in this, because it is in the leaves of the trees that the aphid feeds on their juice. The aphid plays the role of dairy cows in the life of an anthill - it secretes a sweet syrup, so beloved by ants, if the latter slightly tickles its antennae.

Ant social strata

1. Military, whose main task is to ensure the protection of the anthill. After all, ants are able to capture other people's territories, so warriors are simply necessary for an anthill;
2. Engineers and builders who are responsible for the arrangement of the anthill, the creation of new tunnels, communications, etc.;
3. Doctors(in particular, surgeons and nurses). If an ant is sick with something, it is immediately isolated from the rest, because the doctors are afraid that the infection will spread throughout the anthill. In case of damage to one of the limbs, surgeons simply bite it off;
4. nurses. They take care of the larvae;
5. Babysitters on whose conscience the upbringing of the younger generation;
6. Miners, collecting and folding products in the departments of the anthill specially designed for this;
7. Inseminators, which ensure the reproduction of the inhabitants of the anthill;
8. guards. Their duties include protecting the anthill and, directly, its queen;
9. breeders. It's amazing, but ants do too - they breed cicadas, aphids, caterpillars. If the ant family roams, the "cattle" is driven along with them. Some types of ants (leaf cutters, for example) are distinguished by the fact that they also grow mushrooms, which the entire colony can eat;
10. maternity hospital workers who distribute eggs to special rooms of the anthill, as well as monitor the maintenance of a special temperature in them;
11. Nectar Keepers needed in an anthill in case famine suddenly occurs in it, and the worker ants stop getting food. In this case, food supplies will be used, which are always present in thrifty ants.

Ant breeding

In a larger number of ants, once a year, females and males hatch from the laid eggs, ready for fertilization. They find pairs from a nearby anthill. Males die immediately after fertilization. "Pregnant" females no longer return to the anthill - they crawl around the neighborhood, trying to find new places to create their own colony. Finding them, the female lays eggs and gnaws off her wings in order to obtain additional nutrients. After that, a new ant colony is formed.

Ant attack

Ants often take over other anthills. This is sometimes done in a very sophisticated way - the female of one species penetrates the anthill of another species and charms the "locals". Being under the impression, the ants themselves give their queen to be torn to pieces, after which they begin to serve the invader. Some ants get into someone else's anthill and steal pupae there. Those who grew up in someone else's anthill later begin to work for its prosperity. Of course, any ant is in constant labor, but usually they only care about the prosperity of their own species and their anthill.

As you can see, tiny ants are social insects. As you can see, the ant colony is very interesting and requires a long study.

Lomehuses. Capturing and destroying an anthill. Everything is like people