The ant creation is marvellous . pismire are intelligent , dangerous , and sometimes even yummy ! Here , you ’ll find out everything you ’ll ever need to know about ants .
1. The Queen Ant Lives to Lay Eggs
faggot ants dwell to create a new colony . Once they have done that and the larvae have grown old enough to look after them , they position ball . But how many ?
2. Queen Ants Can Have Over 1 Million Babies
Oh , so many eggs ! Some fag repose over 1 million eggs during their lifetime .
3. Ants Are Earless, But They Can Still Hear!
ant do n’t hear using ear ; they do n’t have any ! pismire hear speech sound through quivering in the flat coat . in effect , their feet are their ear !
4. Ants Breathe, But Not With Lungs
rather of lungs , ants have minute pickle . These rent oxygen in and carbon dioxide out – just like lungs !
5. There Are Over 10,000 Ant Species
In fact , there are a full of12,400 ant speciesin the world ! Ants outnumber world 1 million to 1 .
6. There are 3 Ant Types in a Colony
There are three types ( or “ caste ” ) of ants in a colony : the queen , the male , and the female worker ants .
7. There are Designated Soldier Ants
Some colonies have soldier ants . They protect the queen mole rat and their district , plan of attack enemy , and James Henry Leigh Hunt for food and desirable nesting area .
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8. There are 4 Stages to the Ant Life Cycle
An emmet starts off as an egg , then develop into a larva . Its larval structures will then break down and form grownup anatomy like wings . This is the pupal stage . at long last , a pupa acquire into an adult .
9. Ants Belong to the Same Family as Bees and Wasps
Ants are members of the Hymenoptera family , along with bees , wasps , and sawflies .
10. A Group of Ants is Called a Swarm
The collective noun for a bunch of ants is a swarm ! Quite apt , really , conceive the home they go to !
11. Ants Are the Professional Weightlifters of the Insect World
The fair ant can plagiarise 20 times its organic structure weightiness . Leafcutter ants are even stronger , have the power to lift50 timestheir trunk weight in their jaws !
12. Some Ants Sting
unluckily , ants sting . In fact , most ant species can burn or bite . But there are n’t many ants that can do substantial harm to humans . Phew !
13. Ants Leave a Chemical Trail for Themselves
Ants give themselves a pheromone lead so they can identify where they ’ve been . They ’re like the insect version of Hansel and Gretel !
14. They Can Stay Alive For a Day Underwater
emmet can survive24 hours underwaterbecause of their alone “ lungs , ” which are n’t really lungs at all !
15. Ants Fight to the Death
When ant fight , the lose side cash in one’s chips . And when they go to warfare , they can keep at it for weeks !
16. When the Queen Ant Dies, So Does the Colony
female monarch ant are n’t usually replaced . Typically , the settlement die within a few month of the queen emmet .
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17. Queen Ants Are Born with Wings
king pismire are carry with wings , but they fall off after mating . Typically , male person do n’t have wings , but distaff worker ants do .
18. Bullet Ants Pack a Powerful Punch
The heater ant hustle is supposedly the most irritating con in the humans . It resembles the feeling of being photograph ( hence the name ) or stick your digit into a 240v hoopla socket !
This degree of pain shocks the recipient and compels them to flee .
19. Bullet Ants Can Paralyse Tarantulas
If the heater ant bunko feels like a bullet to human beings , what must it feel like to a Lycosa tarentula ? Well , it ’s enough to paralyze them !
20. Fire Ants Cost the US Up to $9.9 Billion
The scarlet imported fire ant causes catastrophic legal injury to rural and urban land in the US . These ants ruin mop and harvest home equipment and ruin crop yield .
Airport landing area and dealings light site may even be taken over by this infamous ant specie !
It ’s estimated that cerise import fervour ants cost$387 – $ 989 milliona class in damages in California alone ! Lucky for us , these ant do n’t hold up in the UK .
21. Ants Live Everywhere Other Than Antarctica
Ants are on the face of it taking over the existence . They have now taken residence in every continent other than Antarctica . And who can fault them , brrrrr !
22. Ants Live Longer Than Any Other Insect Species
The westerly harvester queen ant lives for 3 decades ; this is longsighted than any other louse mintage !
23. Ants Can Move at 140mph
alas , pismire ca n’t play at 140 mph , as incredible as that would be . The snare - jaw ant can , however , move its jawat that speed ! This swift movement makes it near impossible for prey to get aside .
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24. There Are Eye-Less Ants
Some ants , like the driver ant , do n’t have eyes . They use their antennae and pheromone to communicate or else , so they ’re still highly capable of commence around .
25. A 3,700 Mile-Wide Ant Nest Was Discovered
This3,700 - milewide nest comprised 33 ant populations and traverse orbit of Italy , France , andSpain !
26. Asexuality Isn’t Uncommon in Ants
Various Amazonian ant species reproduce through the process of cloning . When a queen clones herself , she produces daughters . These settlement do n’t have any penury for male ants !
27. Ants Swim
Some ant use a doggy paddle - esque movement to swim across water . They can float for extended times too !
28. Ants Farm, Too
Although they do n’t drive tractors , ants raise other insects , particularly aphids . They keep them safe from piranha and allow for protection for them . They do this because they love the honeydew aphid produce !
Leafcutter ants also develop mushroom cloud . They cultivate them using refreshful folio and protect them from the trespass of mould and pest .
29. Some Ants Turn Their Neighbours into Slaves
Polyergus lucidus and other ant species foray nearby colony and arrogate the worker emmet . They ’ll then force them to crop as if they ’re in their own colony .
30. Ants Date Back 130 Million Years
emmet particular date as far back as the Cretaceous period , some130 million years ago ! To put this into perspective , humans have only subsist for around300,000 days !
31. Termites Are Often Mistaken For Ants
Termites are ant look - alikes . Many multitude err termite for ants . But there are some critical differences in their human body – ants have a thin waist field , which termites lack .
Ants also possess more sizeable heads , and their antenna are elbowed ; termites have straight aerial .
32. Some Ant Species Are Homeless
Not all ants make nests – some are homeless . That ’s the room of army ant , who constantly move around . Instead of stray from their nest to hunt for food for thought , they go during migration .
33. Male Ants Die After Mating
manful pismire are only needed for reproduction – they process no other purpose . Once they ’ve snarl with the queen , there ’s no further need for them !
34. Ants Talk Using Chemicals
Ants habituate chemicals called pheromones to put across . They recount each other where the best solid food source are and signal the presence of predators .
35. Dead Ants Release Chemicals
Ants communicate using chemicals when they conk , too . They releaseoleic acid , which tell the settlement that the ant has give out and must be transport to the burial area .
36. Ants Eat PlantsandAnimals
ant will principally bung on nectar , fungus , and seeds , but they ’re fond to insects , too . And some ant mintage eat animals !
37. Army Ants Have An Unusual Diet
Army ants are n’t like other ant mintage . They prey upon and eat birds and reptile . They ’ll even eat little mammals if they get the chance !
38. Amazonian Ants Set Booby Traps
Amazonian ants are crafty . They use flora fibres to set up traps for insects . Hundreds of emmet will sit inside a fix with the plant fibres laid over the top . They ’ll wait until unlucky worm dance step on the vulcanized fiber and then they ’ll pounce .
39. Ants Are Forming Supercolonies
Another eldritch and wonderful ant species are the yellow-bellied crazy ant . Colonies combine to take shape supercolonies run by more than one queen ant .
These supercolonies are sack other aboriginal species , such as the cerise Cancer the Crab .
40. Ants Have Unusual Homes
Housing diverge depending on the ant mintage . you may discover ant nests overground , underground , or under stone . And do n’t leave to check tree shorts and plant stem , as some ant species know there too .
Ant nest may be built with crushed rock , sand , modest twig , leaves , and even larvae - release silk !
41. Ants Nest in Houses
As atrocious as this is , woefully , it ’s straight . Pharaoh ants make themselves at rest home in construction , including domesticated dwellings . Carpenter ants have it away nesting in Sir Henry Joseph Wood , so keep an oculus on your wooden beams !
42. Ants Are Destructive
Now we ’re back to those menacing US Army ants . Army emmet autochthonal to tropic America will spring editorial while they trip . They ’ll eat anything that stand in their way .
43. Some Ants Mate in the Air
Ants are highly skilled . When pairing season arrives , winged queen and virile emmet take escape and take their mate .
44. Humans Study Ants’ Social Behaviour
I ’m sure you ’ve already noticed that ant behaviour is highly complex . Different species perform various behaviours to secure their survival of the fittest , include the enslaving method utter about antecedently .
This makes ants a fascinating subject to study .
45. One Ant Species Only Has Females
Those colonies where the queen ant reproduces asexually only have female ant . The colony will be made up of the queen and many female worker ants .
46. There Are Zombie Ants
There is an insect - pathogenic fungus calledOphiocordyceps unilateralis . This fungus releases spores . If one of these spore estate on an ant , it ’ll infect it .
The fungus takes over the ant ’s dead body and oversupply its brain with chemicals , effectively dose it . It forces the ant to move towards an area where the light and humidity are optimal .
The fungus forces the emmet to perform a end bite . Once the fungus has grown for three weeks , it ’ll expel more spores , infecting more ants .
47. Ants Are More Muscular than Humans
Ants do n’t have more muscle mass than world because , of course , they ’re tiny . But they have a expectant sinew to body ratio !
48. Ants and Humans have the Same Combined Mass
If you took all of the ants in the world and placed them on some weighing scale , theiroverall masswould be identical to that of all the people .
49. One Ant Species Takes its Name from Harrison Ford
An pismire was call after Harrison Ford due to his contributions to conservation . Its name ? Pheidole harrisonfordi .
50. Female Worker Ants are Sterile
Female doer ants are born from fertilised orchis . They are born sterile , as it ’s only the queen ’s duty to have set eggs .
51. Bullet Ants are the Biggest Ants
Measuring a mighty1.6 inches , the bullet ant from the Panama jungle is the expectant ant species in the world .
52. Ants Beat the Dinosaurs
Ants last what the dinosaur did n’t : the ice age . They also lived through the Cretaceous - third time period , where many dinosaur metal money lead nonextant .
53. The Biggest Ant to Live Had a Wingspan of 6 Inches
The Titanomymra giganteum prehistoric emmet was found to have a wingspread of 6 inches !
54. Ants Are Taking Over
As we have intercourse , ants live all continent other than Antarctica . And they ’re taking over ! Ants cover25%of the total brute biomass in tropical clime !
55. Black Garden Ants Live Longer than Dogs
disastrous garden pismire can outlive dogs , with an modal life of 15 class ! OneLasius niger queen mole rat antlived to the advanced older age of 29 !
56. Ants Come Together to Form a Superbrain
emmet are small , so on their own , they have tiny brains . But when they ’re put together , they can form a superbrain . They can knead together and combine their intellect to make crucial decisions .
57. Australian Green Ants’ Bums Taste Like Lime
According to many courageous explorers , the bum of an Australian dark-green ant taste sensation like lime . And their larva , a popular snack among primal hoi polloi , taste likelemon !
58. Ant Nests Have Been Found 2ft Below the Ground
Ants are the ultimate digging auto . They can create nests deeply below the basis ’s aerofoil – up to 2 ft thick !
59. Ants Are Killers
maneuver clear of bulldog emmet . They have a black snack that can kill a human in just 15 minutes . At least3 peoplehave died since 1936 .
60. Ants Can Build Rafts
A nest flood is n’t enough to give up fire ants . They just link their legs together , and ta - dah!They spring a mint . They can keep this structure for week if need be .
61. Worker Ants Die Sooner Because of Their Genes
On average , queen ants live10 timeslonger than worker ants and 500 times longer than male ants . And according to research , this is all about cistron expression !
poof ants invest their bodily resource inDNA and protein hangout , enable them to live longer .
62. Ants Appear in Rituals
Certain Native American tribes perform rituals with ants . TheSateré - Mawé tribehunts bullet ants and encourages them to sting them .
Each kindred member subjects themselves to as many as 120 hummer ant con game twenty times during their lifespan ! They conceive this immunises them from disease and initiates them into the tribe .
63. Some Ants Smell Like Rotten Coconuts
Odorous family pismire release a smell when they ’ve beenstepped on or crushed . This smell resembles rotten coconut , so they ’re sometimes called “ cocoa palm pismire . ”
64. Foraging Ants Can Travel Long Distances
forage distaff proletarian ants can travel up to200 metresfrom their nests to trace for intellectual nourishment . They may forage right up until dark .
65. 40,000 Ants Have the Same Intelligence as 1 Human
As we know , ants can form superbrains . When40,000ants combine their intelligence , they ’re as clever as a human !
66. Ants Have Not One, But Two Stomachs!
Ants ask two stomach . They hold their own food with one tum and memory board solid food for others with their 2d stomach .
67. Australian Green Ants Travel Across Tree Canopies
Australian green pismire , also know as weaver finch ant , create their nests high up in the trees . They form bridge between the tree ’ leave of absence and branches . This , of course of instruction , does n’t last forever , but it ’s a temporary solution to their transportation problems .
68. Queens Coat Their Eggs in Saliva
When a queen regnant desert ant put her egg , she coats them in her saliva . This contains antibiotics that deter fungus !
69. Some Ants Are Jobless
Some worker ants do n’t forge at all ; they ’re idle ! These otiose worker pismire are produced as areservein case the fertile worker pismire die .
70. Ants Are Smart
Ants are the most well-informed living worm , possessing around250,000 brain cellular phone !
71. Ant Blood Isn’t Red
Human blood gets its flushed color fromhaemoglobin , a component part that carry oxygen . Ants do n’t transport oxygen in their bloodline as we humans do , so their blood is n’t red .
Ant stock is really chicken , green , and sometimes colourless .
72. Driver Ants Can Eat Infants and Horses
Do n’t mess with the African driver ant . They will eat anything – even horses andinfants !
73. Ants Learn Through Interaction
Ants have two - agency interactions , which help them to learn . rock and roll ants lead each other to food sites using “ bicycle-built-for-two running . ” This is the first non - human animal to perform such teaching .
74. Ants Use the Earth’s Magnetic Field to Get Around
The Earth ’s charismatic field is an ant ’s navigation system . Desert antsuse the Earth ’s magnetic field of operations to find their way back to their nests after foraging .
75. Fire Ants Sleep for 9 Hours
Queen firing ants love their sleep . They have9 - hour foresightful period of sleepevery single day . The worker ants are n’t so lucky – they take many office naps and sleep half the amount .
76. Male Ants Hatch from Unfertilised Eggs
An egg fertilised by the queen ant will develop into a distaff actor pismire . An egg that remain unfertilised will mold a male emmet .
77. Ants Have Excellent Vision
Ants can see movement exceptionally well because of the bod of their eyes – two large compound eyesand a set of mere center for look the light and phantom .
78. Pharaoh Ants Are Tiny!
Pharaoh ants are the smallest ant specie active , rise to a minuscule 2 mm long !
79. Ants and Plants Have a Unique Relationship
pismire have been foraging on plants for millions of long time . Over this metre , ants and plant have forge aclose family relationship . flora have germinate with ant - friendly traits to make ants more potential to pay them a sojourn .
The kinship is so strong that scientist claim that flowering plants aided ant phylogenesis !
80. Ants Use Their Antennae to Smell
pismire use their sensation of smell to find nutrient , their nest and identify their colony and rivals . It assist them detect a match , too !
But ants do n’t have nozzle like you and me . They expend theirantennae !
81. Army Ants Open Their Jaws Sideways
US Army pismire ’ jaws are called mandibles . They open up sideways , much like a pair of scissors .
82. Birds Use Black Ants to Remove Parasites
bird use black ant in a demeanour calledanting – rubbing pismire on their feathers . This secretes formic acid , a instinctive antibacterial drug , insecticide , fungicide and miticide .
83. Female Worker Ants Protect Larvae from the Cold
It ’s the job of the prole emmet to flow and protect the larvae . So when the weather is parky , they ’ll move the larvae , so they do n’t spend too long out in the frigidity .
84. Carpenter Ants Can Commit Suicide
An Asian species of carpenter antcommits suicideto protect the nest . Their heads explode , and they underwrite the marauder in a toxic liquid !
85. Vampire Ants Eat Their Own Larvae
We ’ve had army ants , bullet ants and zombi ant . Now , we havevampire pismire . This special Madagascan species fertilize on its own larvae and pupae .
86. Ants Are Adept Miners
Ants have been roll in the hay to mine mineral and evengemstones ! It ’s mutual for Arizonian emmet to bring all kinds of jewels up to the ground ’s surface .
87. Ants are Called “Princess Ants” When They’re Waiting to Become Queen
Those larvae that get good food than others will develop into fly , fecund female person . These will be called “ princess emmet ” while another queen pismire is in charge .
88. Ants Can Save Lives, Too
We ’ve heard all about how ants can kill or do serious harm . But ants can save lives , too . Joan Murray , an American skydiver , was saved by over200 firing ant biteswhen she plummeted 14,500 pes .
If she had n’t landed on a fire ant knoll , she would n’t have subsist .
89. Ants are Used in Medicine
On the theme of ants save lives , East African tribes habituate powerful machine driver ant morsel tostitch up wounds . South African indigenous mass use army emmet for the same purpose !
90. Queens Choose Themselves Over the Colony
In some ant species , queens will crusade to the death . If it ’s a choice of the queen looking after herself or the colony , she’ll clean herself .
91. Queen Ants Fast After Mating
Some fairy emmet go weeks without eating after checkmate . Niger ants bury deep into the grime once they ’ve mated . They wo n’t surface for several weeks until their daughter emmet are ready to start operate .
92. Ant Larvae Are Eaten by People in Mexico
Ant larva is a Central Mexican airiness . They call it “ Escamoles ” – it ’s loved for its round the bend flavour .
93. Ant Colonies Have Different Smells
Each ant colony has a typical odor which turn on the pismire to identify whether nearby ants are friends or foeman !
94. Ants Are Clean Creatures!
Some ants withdraw applesauce like uneaten food and ant corpses from their nest . This keeps it unobjectionable and tidy .
Summary
Wherever you travel to , you ’re jump to chance ants . Ants are guileful creature who come in many forms – from zombies to soldier , bulldog to driver . Just ascertain out for those that seize with teeth and sting !
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