- Underwater resistance
Despite the fact that ants live underground and generally move above it, skirting puddles and water in general, these arthropods can stay under water for two weeks without dying.
- Ants are omnivorous and predatory
Despite their small size, ants are capable of attacking any type of animal, regardless of its size. They do it by forming a large group for it.
They are predators of all kinds of plants and animals, including fish.
- They are very strong
Ants are capable of lifting approximately 50 times their own weight. This is the equivalent of a person weighing 70 kg, for example, being able to lift 3500 kg.
- The ant’s bite
The ant’s means of defense or protection against an attacker is the bite. Along with the bite, it is common for them to secrete acids that affect the opponent’s body.
Also, when ants fight, they almost always fight to the death.
- Life expectancy of ants
In appearance, ants are fragile and weak beings, which would make us suspect that their life expectancy is very short. However, these insects can live between 4 and 12 years.
- Way of communicating
Ants communicate primarily through their antennae. They rub against each other in a certain way or with those of another ant.
The antennas are also used to detect drafts, chemicals and vibrations.
By not emitting sounds, to indicate their position, they leave a trace with the substances they have collected. In this way, the rest of the ants can easily locate it.
- The queen ant
The queen has wings (which she sheds when she forms a new nest) and fulfills a reproductive function in the community. It is the one that lays eggs to make the colony grow. It is capable of laying an incredible 800 to 1,500 eggs a day. This explains the ease of multiplication of these insects.
By the time the queen of the colony dies, the rest of the ants can only survive a few months, because she is rarely replaced and the rest are not able to reproduce.
- The eyes
Most species of ants have two eyes, which in turn are made up of tiny eyes (ommatidia). With them the ant distinguishes movement but does not have a clear vision capacity.
They also have three simple eyes (ocelli) on the top of their heads that detect light levels and therefore help them to orient themselves.
- Name of the ant male
The largest colonies of ants are made up mostly of wingless females who act as workers or soldiers.
The fertile males of this species are endowed with wings and are called drones. They have only reproductive functions, and once they fulfill their objective, the life expectancy of the drone is very short.
- The intelligence of ants
Ants are capable of teamwork and problem solving, therefore we can consider them intelligent animals.
Some of his skills are:
They can build bridges – they hold onto each other to clear obstacles.
They use leaves as a raft to be able to navigate.
Some of them cultivate seeds and roots in a very rudimentary way inside the anthill.
- The size of your brain
In proportion to its size, the ant’s brain is the largest in the animal world. Obviously, this does not mean that they are the most intelligent species.
- How ants breathe
These arthropods do not have lungs. Oxygen enters the ant’s body through spiracles, which are small holes distributed throughout the body. Carbon dioxide resulting from respiration is released through the same holes.
- The number of ants in the world
There is an estimate that 10% of the body mass of the animal world are ants. This allows us to get an idea of the number of ants there are.
- The ant predator
There is a species of these insects, known as the lion ant, which feeds on the rest of ants, that is, it is a natural predator.
- The slaves
Despite being peaceful beings that live in a calm and very orderly way, these insects can enslave other individuals to do their work. The bred ants are usually from another species or from another colony of their own species. The less common is that the ants of the same colony are enslaved.