Ants do not recognize loneliness and live in colonies. Their dwelling, as a rule, is an underground nest with a multitude of chambers interconnected by passages. Above the underground dwelling, these insect laborers erect a castle (ant heap), where they raise their offspring.
A rotten tree and a stump that insects quickly equip for a comfortable and comfortable settlement can become a good home for ants.
Ant Colony Members
The inhabitants of the anthill are divided into 4 groups:
- Females (womb) - the founders of any ant house, their function is to lay eggs. There is only one female queen in the colony, which the ants carefully guard, feed and cherish.
- The males. They die some time after mating (their main function).
- Working ants (foragers). Their duties include taking care of all the individuals of the family, the delivery of food and the protection of the anthill from the encroachments of enemies.
- Larvae. Future offspring. The larvae are divided into 2 species: able to feed independently and in need of feeding. The latter species prevails; adult ants feed such larvae with semi-digested food from their own esophagus.
All this large family needs huge quantities of food. What do the ants eat?
Oral apparatus
The oral apparatus of these insects "gnawing". The mouth contains:
- upper lip (labrum);
- ruining the bottom (labium);
- mandibles (jaws).
Depending on the type of the upper jaw (mandibles) and lower (maxilla) can be: large and small, blunt and very sharp, with teeth and simply smooth, interlocking and overlapping. Abutments have the opportunity to work independently and with the mouth closed.
Underlip has a tongue, which is a taste organ, and also used by ants to cleanse their bodies.
Food
Ants - omnivorous insects. Their diet depends on the species and habitat.
In the warm season, food is supplied by working ants daily. In the cold, everything happens differently: many species of the ant family do not hibernate, in connection with which in the fall they clog their homes with food, which allows them to calmly survive the cold season.
The distribution is as follows:
- the larvae. Eat protein food: the remains of small insects, eggs of various pests. If we are talking about domestic (Pharaoh) ants, then the larvae often drops food from the owners home table (meat, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese), and sometimes the domesticated cockroaches, which the younger generation eats, also get their ants;
- worker ants. To maintain strength, they need carbohydrate foods that are nutritious, rich in energy and well absorbed. These are: pulp of fruits and berries, seeds, nuts, roots and juices of plants. Having settled in the houses, they are happy to eat sugar, honey. The favorite delicacy of the ants is honeydew (the sap of the plants they produce during extreme temperatures) and the fall (sugar aphid milk);
- uterus. The basis of her diet - protein. In many species, the food intended for the uterus is chewed by working ants and delivered to its queen in a convenient form for consumption.
Feed on ants often, several times a day.
Food ants depending on their species
There are types of gourmet ants who prefer 1-2 regular products to a diverse diet:
- ant leaf cutter. Insects of this species collect leaves of trees in their homes, carefully chew them into porridge and put them in special chambers. In the warm sheet mass, there is a rapid development of fungi, which feed on leaf cutters. The leaf plates themselves are too rough for their tender stomachs and are not suitable for consumption;
- centerirmeksy. They feed exclusively on termites;
- dracula These ants suck the juice of their own larvae, and the latter do not suffer much from it. Adult insects catch large insects: spiders, centipedes, but they do not eat them themselves, but feed the younger generation;
- reaper ants. They feed on seeds of dried plants. This food is not very digestible, so the insects grind it with their strong jaws into mush;
- carpenter ants. The source of carbohydrate for this species is wood tar, which is released in places of damage to the bark;
- ponerins. This is a whole subfamily. Each species of which feeds on a specific insect pest. They are rightly called forest nurses.
Ants are unique creatures. Tireless hard workers, they bring considerable benefits to forests, loosening the soil and destroying parasitic insects. However, ants often cause serious problems to people, eating seedlings, leaves and ripened root crops in summer cottages or stocks of food in houses.
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Useful materials
Then you can get acquainted with articles that may be useful and interesting to you:
- Ant extermination:
- How to get rid of red ants in the apartment?
- Boric acid and borax from ants
- Folk remedies for ants in the apartment and house
- Rating of effective means of ants in the apartment
- Ant traps
- Ants in the garden:
- Species of ants
- How do ants hibernate?
- Who are the ants?
- The value of ants in nature
- Hierarchy of ants: the king of the ant and the structural features of the working ant
- How do ants breed?
- Ants with wings
- Forest and garden ants, as well as the ant reaper
- How to get rid of ants in the garden?
