Fascinating creatures are everywhere! We sometimes find that the commonest
ones are the most interesting, if we would only take the time to study
them.
A case in point is the lowly ant. Fascinating? Ants?
"Poppycock", you say! "They crawl around on sidewalks, and build mounds in
my lawn, what is so darn interesting about these little varmints"?
But study on, fearless reader, once you peruse this ant information and facts,
and you will find that the ant is one of of the earth’s more interesting
creatures.
Archeologists tell us that ant-like insects have been around almost 92
million years. A possible ancestor to the ant has been found in New Jersey
preserved in amber. This insect had both wasp, to which the ant is closely
related, and ant characteristics. This means that ant-like creatures were
aggravating the dinosaurs long before man came along.
These adaptable little insects have evolved, and survived whatever killed
the dinosaurs, as well as numerous ice ages, to number at least 4500
different species today. Ants inhabit every continent and climate of the
earth from the tropics to the artic except Antarctica. Pretty impressive,
huh!
The lifecycle of the ant is a quite interesting thing to study. The ant is
a social insect like its close insect relatives, the wasp, bee, and
sawfly. But the ant has evolved a social structure much more complex than
any of these other bugs.
An ant colony consists of three basic castes. The queen is the largest
ant in the nest. Workers are sterile females, variations of which do all
the chores of the colony. The males are winged through out their life and
exist only to mate with the queen.
The life cycle an ant colony begins at specific times of the year,
depending upon their geographic location. Here in North America this is
usually in the spring. Winged males and females are produced, which then
fly off and mate. The males die and the fertilized females burrow into the
earth and become the queen of a new colony. The new queen lays about a
hundred eggs which hatch, and become workers.
Once these workers reach maturity, a male is produced from the eggs.
The queen grows wings and the two fly off on a "nuptial flight". The male
dies after mating and the fertilized queen returns to the nest, loses her
wings and begins laying eggs. These eggs are then tended by the workers,
hatching in several weeks. In a few months the nest will include more
than a thousand individuals.
Ants undergo a process called metamorphosis. This fancy word just means
that the ant matures through several stages of development before it
becomes a full-fledged ant. Larvae soon emerge from the eggs, and are fed
and cleaned by specialized worker ants. After a period of development the
larvae mutates into an inactive pupae. The pupae becomes an ant, and
enters into the life of the colony. The life span of a worker ant
may be several years,
a queen up to fifteen years.
Ant nests can take many forms. Some of the more primitive ants construct
no nests at all. They live under logs, rocks - any object which can give
them protective shelter. Other ants build nests out of leaves, sticks,
and soil. Some tropical ants suspend their nests from trees, using a
silken thread which they excrete solely for this purpose. Many ants
build elaborate tunnel systems underground and some, like the carpenter
ant, tunnel in wood items like trees, logs, and stumps.
Most ants’ diets are omnivorous, which is another way of saying they will
eat just about anything - carrion, insects and plant material. Some ants
are predatory and will prey on other insects. Leaf cutter ants have
learned to cultivate fungus to grow in their nests, cutting small bits of
leaves to use as fertilizer.
Other types of ants have learned to use aphids as a food source in a way
which benefits both insects. The aphids are carried to plants close to
the colony in the morning, where they feed on the plant’s juices
throughout the day. The ants clean and guard the aphids as they feed.
At dusk the aphids are carried back to the colony where they produce a
sugary substance called honeydew on their abdomen. The honeydew is licked
off and ingested by the ant, giving them a nutritious food source.
The aphids benefit from the ants protection and shelter, and the ant
benefits from easily obtained food.
Harvester ants collect grains of grass and grain plants for food.
Specially developed worker ants with very large mandibles crack the grains
for the other ants to eat.
Honey pot ants have specially developed workers which store "honey" in
their enlarged bodies. They secrete this liquid to other ants in the
colony as food.
Slaveholding ants will raid other ant nests; carrying captives back to
their colony and force them to do the menial work Empire building ants
raid and subjugate other colonies, sometimes extending their dominion
over large areas.
Ant’s communication takes many forms. Chemicals called pheromones are one
method. Specialized ants called finder ants forage for food far from the
colony. When some is located the ant releases a pheromone trail as it
returns to the nest. Worker ants from the colony follow this trail,
sometimes forming very impressive columns as they traverse the trail.
The queen also uses pheromones to retard ovary development of the other
female ants in the colony, to determine the caste of developing eggs,
and other essential tasks.
Pheromones are also are used as an alarm system. Ants invading the nest
will "smell" different, alerting the defenders that strangers are among
them. The guardian ants then emit pheromones alerting other ants that the
nest is under attack.
Certain types of ants will use the drumming sound of their head on the
floor of the nests to communicate to other ants in the colony. Harvester
ants alert the colony of cave ins and other disaster with a squeaking
noise.
Ants will also touch their antennae to other ant’s antennae to communicate
food sources and other business of the colony.
Army ants are fascinating creatures and include many species, every one
of which has their own unique characteristics. Most follow the general
behavior patterns described here.
Army ants do not build permanent nests and have two main types of
behavior, nomadic and non-nomadic. The nomadic phase lasts about two
weeks and is the most well known aspect of their behavior. During this
time the entire ant colony moves, sometimes as much as 125 yards in a
day. Advancing as fast as one foot per minute, they will kill, tear apart
and consume any unfortunate insect, small mammal, bird, tarantula, or
snake which gets in their path. Livestock trapped in pens may also be
killed and consumed. At dusk a "bivouac" is formed. This is a temporary
nest formed from the living bodies of millions of worker ants. This nest
protects the queen, eggs, larvae, pupae and other workers within the
colony.
During the non-nomadic period, about three weeks, the nesting ants stay
in one spot, making smaller daytime raids for food. During this time the
queen lays eggs - up to 100,000 of them. As these eggs develop and new
workers become available pheromones are released which excite the colony
into another nomadic phase.
Ant behavior can be both beneficial and detrimental to humans. Aphids
tended by ants can cause much destruction for gardeners and farmers as
plants are weakened by the aphids siphoning off of vital fluids. Carpenter
ants can invade homes, destroying the wood structure. Leaf cutter and
harvester ants can destroy crops with their depredations. Fire ants
cause much annoyance with their stings. And ant infestation of homes
can cause spoilage of food and lots of aggravation when they get into
home food storage areas.
Ant activities can also be beneficial. Dead plant and animal matter
is broken down by ants and eliminated. Predatory ants can reduce other
destructive insect populations. Ants can also pollinate certain types of
flowers, ensuring seed set and they also distribute seeds as they move
them about. Burrowing ants aerate the soil and move soil nutrients and
organic matter throughout making it more accessible to plants. People in
the tropics allow army ants to give their homes a thorough housecleaning.
They move out of the home, and encourage the ants to invade. The ants eat
food particles, parasitic insects and clear out rodents, after which the
people move back into a much cleaner house. Ants also serve as a food
source for valuable birds and beneficial insects.
You may study ants and their lifcycle close up with an ant farm. The next
article shows you how to construct a nest for these interesting insects.
