Ants Nest Construction
Ants cooperation and
Ants Relationships with
Humans and ants
Ants as pests
Ants are social insects that belong to the same order as the wasps and
bees. They are of particular interest because of their highly organized
colonies or nests which sometimes consist of millions of individuals.
Individuals are divided into infertile female workers and fertile males
(drones) and females (queens).
Colonies can occupy and use a wide area of land to support them. Ant
colonies are sometimes described as super organisms because the colony
appears to operate as a single entity.
Ants have colonized almost every landmass on Earth. The only places
lacking indigenous ant species are Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, and
the Hawaiian Islands. They can constitute up to 15-25% of the total
animal biomass. Up to a third (33%) of the terrestrial animal biomass
has been estimated to be made up of ants and termites.
There are about 11,880 known ant species, most of which are tropical.
Termites, sometimes called white ants, though similar in social
structure are not even closely related to ants. They comprise the more
primitive order Isoptera and are more closely related to cockroaches.
Velvet ants, although resembling large ants, are wingless female wasps.
Ants are distinguished from other insects by the following traits:
elbowed antennae; a strongly constricted second abdominal segment
forming a distinct node-like petiole; the petiole can be formed by one
or two "parts" or segments (only the second, or the second and third
abdominal segments can form it). Ants have a wingless worker caste; the
presence of a metapleural gland is also distinctive.
Ant bodies, like other insects, have an exoskeleton, meaning their
bodies are externally covered in a protective casing, as opposed to the
internal skeletal framework of humans and other vertebrates. Ants do not
have lungs. Oxygen passes through tiny pores, the spiracles, in their
exoskeleton - the same holes through which carbon dioxide leaves their
body. Nor do they have a heart; a colorless blood, the hemolymph, runs
from their head to rear and back again along a long tube. Their nervous
system is much like a human spinal cord in that it is a continuous cord,
the ventral nerve cord, from head to rear with branches into each
The three main divisions of the ant body are the head, mesosoma and
The head of an ant has many important parts. Ant eyes are compound eyes,
similar to fly eyes: they have many smaller eyes attached together which
enables them to see movement very well. Most ants have poor to mediocre
eyesight; some are blind altogether. A few have exceptional vision
though, such as Australia's bulldog ant. Also attached to the head of an
ant are two feelers. The feelers are special smelling organs that help
ants communicate. Ants release pheromones (chemicals that have different
smells) to communicate with each other and the feelers pick these smells
as signals. The head also has two strong pinchers, the mandibles, which
are used to carry food, to dig, and to defend. There is also a small
pocket inside the mouth where ants can store food and give to others in
The thorax of the ant is where all six legs are attached. At the end of
each leg is a sharp claw that helps ants climb and hang onto things.
Most queens and male ants have wings, which they drop after the nuptial
flight; however wingless queens (ergatoids) and males can occur.
The metasoma of the ant houses many of the important internal organs.
Some species of ants have stingers used for subduing prey and defending
The life of an ant starts with an egg. If the egg is fertilized, the ant
will be female; if not, it will be male. Ants are holometabolous, and
develop by complete metamorphosis, passing through larval and pupal
stages (with the pupae being exarate) before they become adults. The
larval stage is particularly helpless – for instance it lacks legs
entirely – and cannot care for itself. The difference between queens and
workers (which are both female), and between different castes of workers
when they exist, is determined by the feeding in the larval stage. Food
is given to the larvae by a process called trophallaxis in which an ant
regurgitates food previously held in its crop for communal storage. This
is also how adults distribute food amongst themselves. Larvae and pupae
need to be kept at fairly constant temperatures to ensure proper
development, and so are often moved around various brood chambers within
A new worker spends the first few days of its adult life caring for
the queen and young. After that it graduates to digging and other nest
work, and then to foraging and defense of the nest. These changes are
fairly abrupt and define what are called temporal castes. One theory of
why this occurs is because foraging has a high death rate, so ants only
participate in it when they are older and closer to death anyway. In a
few ants there are also physical castes – workers come in a spectrum of
sizes, called minor, median, and major workers, the latter beginning
foraging sooner. Often the larger ants will have disproportionately
larger heads, and so stronger mandibles. Such individuals are sometimes
called "soldier" ants because their stronger mandibles make them more
effective in fighting other creatures, although they are still in fact
worker ants and their "duties" typically do not vary greatly from the
minor or median workers. In a few species the median workers have
disappeared, creating a sharp divide and clear physical difference
between the minors and majors..
Most of the common ant species breed in the same way. Only the queen and
breeding females have the ability to mate. Contrary to popular belief,
some ant nests have multiple queens. The male ants, called drones, along
with the breeding females emerge from pupation with wings (although some
species, like army ants, don't produce winged queens), and do nothing
throughout their life except eat, until the time for mating comes. At
this time, all breeding ants, excluding the queen, are carried outside
where other colonies of similar species are doing the same. Then, all
the winged breeding ants take flight. Mating occurs in flight and the
males die shortly afterward. The females that survive land and seek a
suitable place to begin a colony. There, they break off their own wings
and begin to lay eggs, which they care for. Sperm obtained during their
nuptial flight is stored and used to fertilize all future eggs produced.
The first workers to hatch are weak and smaller than later workers, but
they begin to serve the colony immediately. They enlarge the nest,
forage for food and care for the other eggs. This is how most new
colonies start. A few species that have multiple queens can start a new
colony as a queen from the old nest takes a number of workers to a new
site and founds a colony there.
Ant colonies can be long-lived. The queens themselves can live for up
to 30 years, while workers live from 1 to 3 years. Males, however, are
short lived and live for only a few weeks..
Ants Mating, Indonesian : Laron, Balinees
Ant communication is accomplished primarily through chemicals called
pheromones. Because most ants spend their time in direct contact with
the ground, these chemical messages are more developed than in other
Hymenopterans. So for instance, when a forager finds food, she will
leave a pheromone trail along the ground on her way home. In a short
time other ants will follow this pheromone trail. Home is often located
through the use of remembered landmarks and the position of the sun as
detected with compound eyes and also by means of special sky
polarization-detecting fibers within the eyes. Returning home, they
reinforce this same trail which in turn attracts more ants until the
food is exhausted, after which the trail is no longer reinforced and so
slowly dissipates. This behavior helps ants adapt to changes in their
environment. When an established path to a food source is blocked by a
new obstacle, the foragers leave the path to explore new routes. If
successful, the returning ant leaves a new trail marking the shortest
route. Since each ant prefers to follow a path richer in pheromone
rather than poorer, the resulting route is also the shortest available.
Ants make use of pheromones for other purposes as well. A crushed
ant, for example, will emit an alarm pheromone which in high
concentration sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy; and in lower
concentration, merely attracts them. To confuse their enemies, several
ant species even use what are termed propaganda pheromones.
Like other insects, ants smell with their antennae, which are long
and thin. These are fairly mobile, having a distinct elbow joint after
an elongated first segment; and since they come in pairs--rather like
binocular vision or stereophonic sound equipment--they provide
information about direction as well as intensity. Pheromones are also
exchanged as compounds mixed with food and passed in trophallaxis,
giving the ants information about one another's health and nutrition.
Ants can also detect what task group (e.g. foraging or nest maintenance)
to which other ants belong. Of special note, the queen produces a
certain pheromone without which the workers would begin raising new
Some ants also produce sounds by stridulation using the gaster
segments and also using their mandibles. They may serve to communicate
among colony members as well as in interactions with other species..
and defend themselves by biting and in many species, stinging, often
injecting chemicals like formic acid. Bullet Ants (Genus Paraponera),
located in Central and South America, are considered to have the most
painful sting among insects, although these are usually non-fatal. They
are given the highest rating on the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. Jack
jumper ants, (Myrmecia pilosula) located in Australia have stings that
cause fatality to a small number of people in the population, and cause
hospitalizations each year.
Fire ants (Solenopsis spp.) are unique in having a poison sac
containing piperidine alkaloids.
Some ants of the genus Odontomachus are equipped with mandibles called
trap-jaws. This snap-jaw mechanism, or catapult mechanism, is possible
because energy is stored in the large closing muscles. The blow is
incredibly fast, about 0.5 ms in the genus Mystrium. Before the strike,
the mandibles open wide and are locked in the open position by the
labrum, which functions as a latch. The attack is triggered by
stimulation of sensory hairs at the side of the mandibles. The mandibles
are also able to function as a tool for more finely adjusted tasks. Two
similar groups are Odontomachus and Dacetini - examples of convergent
While many types of animals can learn behaviors by imitating other
animals, ants may be the only group of animals besides primates and some
other mammals in which interactive teaching behavior has been observed.
Knowledgeable forager ants of the species Temnothorax albipennis
directly lead naïve nest-mates to newly discovered food sources by the
excruciatingly slow (and time-costly) process of tandem running. The
follower thereby obtains knowledge that it would not have, had it not
been tutored, and this is at the expense of its nest-mate teacher. Both
leader and follower are acutely sensitive to the progress of their
partner. For example, the leader slows down when the follower lags too
far behind, and speeds up when the follower gets too close, while the
follower does the opposite..
Ants Nest Construction
While some ants form complex nests and galleries, other species are
nomadic and do not build permanent structures. Some species form
subterranean nests, while others build nests on trees. The materials
used for construction include soil and plant matter.
Some of the more advanced ants are the army ants and driver ants, from
South America and Africa respectively. Unlike most species which have
permanent nests, army and driver ants do not form permanent nests, but
instead alternate between nomadic stages and stages where the workers
form a temporary nest (bivouac) out of their own bodies. Colonies
reproduce either through nuptial flights as described above, or by
fission, where a group of workers simply dig a new hole and raise new
queens. Colony members are distinguished by smell, and other intruders
are usually attacked.
Weaver ants (Oecophylla) build nests in trees by attaching leaves
together, first pulling them together with bridges of workers and then
sewing them together by pressing silk-producing larvae against them in
Leafcutter ants (Atta and Acromyrmex) feed exclusively on a special
fungus that lives only within their colonies. They continually collect
leaves which they cut into tiny pieces for the fungus to grow on. These
ants have several differently sized castes especially for cutting up the
pieces they are supplied with into even smaller pieces. Leaf cutter ants
are sensitive enough to adapt to the fungi's reaction to different plant
material, apparently detecting chemical signals from the fungus. If a
particular type of leaf is toxic to the fungus the colony will no longer
collect it. The ants grow the fungus because it produces special
structures called gongylidia which are fed on by the ants. They create
antibiotics on their exterior surfaces with the aid of symbiotic
bacteria, and subsist entirely on this farming of the fungus.
Desert ants Cataglyphis fortis make use of visual landmarks in
combination with other cues to navigate.
In the absence of visual landmarks, Sahara desert ants have been
shown to navigate by keeping track of direction as well as distance
travelled, like an internal pedometer that keeps tracks of how many
steps they take, and use this information to find the shortest routes
back to their nests.
In the absence of visual landmarks, Sahara desert ants have been shown
to navigate by keeping track of direction as well as distance travelled,
like an internal pedometer that keeps tracks of how many steps they
take, and use this information to find the shortest routes back to their
Ants usually lose, or never develop, their wings. Therefore, unlike
their wasp ancestors, most ants travel by walking.
The more cooperative species of ants sometimes form chains to bridge
gaps, whether that be over water, underground, or through spaces in
Among their reproductive members, most species of ant do not retain
wings beyond their mating flight; most females remove their own wings
when returning to the ground to lay eggs, while the males almost
invariably die after that maiden flight.
Some ants are even capable of leaping. A particularly notable species is
Jerdon's Jumping ant (Harpegnathos saltator). This is achieved by
synchronized action of the mid and hind pair of legs.
Polyrhachis sokolova, a species of ant found in Australian mangrove
swamps, can swim and lives in nests that are submerged underwater. They
make use of trapped pockets of air in the submerged nests.
There are several species of gliding ant including Cephalotes atratus.
In fact this may be a common trait among most arboreal ants. Ants with
this ability are able to direct the direction of their descent while
Ants cooperation and
Meat eater ants feeding on honey - social
ants cooperate and collectively gather food
Not all ants have the same kind of societies. The Australian bulldog
ants are among the biggest and most primitive of ants. The individual
hunts alone, using its large eyes instead of its chemical senses to find
prey. Like all ants they are social, but their social behavior is poorly
developed compared to more advanced species. The Australian bulldog ant
Myrmecia pilosula has only a single pair of chromosomes and males have
just one chromosome as they are haploid.
Some species of ants are known for attacking and taking over the
colonies of other ant species. Others are less expansionist but
nonetheless just as aggressive; they attack colonies to steal eggs or
larvae, which they either eat or raise as workers/slaves. Some ants,
such as the Amazon Ants, are incapable of feeding themselves, but must
rely on captured worker ants to care for them. In some cases ant
colonies may have other species of ants or termites within the same
The Pavement ant is famous for its urge to increase its territory. In
early spring, colonies attempt to conquer new areas and often attack the
nearest enemy colony. These result in huge sidewalk battles, sometimes
leaving thousands of ants dead. Because of their aggressive nature, they
often invade and colonize seemingly impenetrable areas.
Ants identify kin and nestmates through their scents, a
hydrocarbon-laced secretion that coats their exoskeletons. If an ant is
separated from its original colony, it will eventually lose the colony
scent. Any ant that enters a colony with a different scent than that of
the colony will be attacked..
Ants Relationships with
Ants are associated with other species in a wide variety of ways.
These associations include mutualistic and parasitic relationships as
well as interactions with more than one species which are not fully
understood. Well known relationships are between other insects,
especially those that secrete honeydew and those with plants and fungi.
Aphids secrete a sweet liquid called honeydew. The sugars provide a
high-energy food source, which many ant species use. Normally this is
allowed to fall to the ground, but around ants it is kept for them to
collect. The ants in turn keep predators away and will move the aphids
around to better feeding locations. Upon migrating to a new area, many
colonies will take new aphids with them, to ensure that they have a
supply of honeydew in the new area. Ants also tend mealybugs to harvest
their honeydew. Mealybugs can become a serious pest of pineapple if ants
are present to protect mealybugs from natural enemies.
Myrmecophilous (ant-loving) caterpillars of the family Lycaenidae (e.g.,
blues, coppers, or hairstreaks) are herded by the ants, led to feeding
areas in the daytime, and brought inside the ants' nest at night. The
caterpillars have a gland which secretes honeydew when the ants massage
them. Some caterpillars are known to produce vibrations and sounds that
are sensed by the ants.Some caterpillars have evolved from being
ant-loving to ant-eating and these myrmecophagous caterpillars secrete a
pheromone which makes the ants think that the caterpillar's larva is one
of their own. The larva will then be taken into the ants' nest where it
can feed on the ant larvae.
Fungus-growing ants that make up the tribe attini, including Leafcutter
ants, actively cultivate certain species of fungus in the Leucoagaricus
or Leucocoprinus genera of the Agaricaceae family. In this ant-fungus
mutualism, both species depend on each other for survival. Allomerus
decemarticulatus has evolved a tripartite association with their host
plant Hirtella physophora (Chrysobalanaceae), and a fungus in order to
ambush and obtain protein nutrition from prey insects.
Humans and ants
Ants are useful for clearing out insect pests and aerating the soil. On
the other hand, they can become annoyances when they invade homes,
yards, gardens and fields. Carpenter ants damage wood by hollowing it
out for nesting.
In some parts of the world large ants, especially army ants, are said to
be used as sutures by pressing the wound together and applying ants
along it. The ant in defensive attitude seizes the edges in its
mandibles and locks in place. The body is then cut off and the head and
mandibles can remain in place, closing the wound.
Some species, called killer ants, have a tendency to attack much larger
animals during foraging or in defending their nests. Human attacks are
rare, but the stings and bites can be quite painful and in large enough
numbers can be disabling.
The Masai of Africa had an abiding respect for the Siafu Ants, voracious
predators that consume a large amount of insects and are welcomed for
the benefit they bring to farmers, as they will eliminate all pests from
a crop and quickly move on..
Ants are so successful and common
that many ant species specialize on eating other ants
.Big Bad Wolf---
Lacewing larvae prey primarily on aphids, but many aphids are protected
by ants who enjoy the aphid's secretion of honeydew (a sugary, liquid
waste product). To get by the ant "shepherds", the spiny, grublike larva
coats itself in the discarded shells of aphids or in the fuzzy white
"wool" that some aphids are coated with. The ants, who's primary senses
are touch and smell, cannot tell the difference between the disguised
lacewing and a live group of aphids.
Ants of the genus Polyergus are fierce, powerful insects so geared
towards fighting that they do not know how to feed themselves. They
depend entirely on ants of the genus Formica, which Polyergus keep as
slaves. Formica workers, stolen right from their own colonies, are
forced to perform all non-combative duties in the Polyergus nest
including excavation and rearing young. Without any slaves, an adult
Polyergus can starve to death surrounded by food.
One species of tropical caterpillar the Blue Butterfly lives in the nests of stinging ants.
The caterpillar secretes sweet, delicious honeydew that encourages the
ants to keep it alive and healthy. When the caterpillar hatches from its
pupa as a butterfly, the ants even escort it out of the nest and protect
it until its first flight.
---The creepiest ants you have ever heard of---
Discovered in 2000, Madagascan "Dracula Ants" feed on the blood of their
own larva, scratching them open and drinking just enough to sustain
themselves without killing the young. Larva themselves eat normal food
brought by the workers, but have been observed running and hiding when
an adult enters their chamber.
Camponotus saundersi is a malaysian ant species with the incredible
defensive behavior of self-destructing. Two oversized, poison-filled
mandibular glands run the entire length of the ant's body. When combat
takes a turn for the worse, the ant violently contracts its abdominal
muscles to rupture its body and spray poison in all directions.
Solenopsis daguerrei is a species of ant that has taken on a parasitic
lifestyle. It has no worker class or even a colony at all...the species
exists only as reproductive males and females (in contrast, the
thousands of workers and soldiers forming the bulk of a normal ant
colony are entirely sterile females). Females actually attach themselves
to the queens of black or red fire ants, disguising themselves with the
scent of the host colony and taking full advantage of their resources.
The fire ants will unknowingly maintain an entire brood of the
parasite's young as their own.
Another form of parasitic ant is Lasius umbratus. After mating, the
queen lands outside an established ant colony and hunts for one of their
workers, which she will kill to obtain the host colony's odor. She will
enter the nest undetected, kill the queen, and take her place. The host
colony will tend to this imposter queen and her eggs until every
original worker and soldier has died naturally...leaving only a pure
colony of Lasius
Like all insects, ants have six legs. Each leg has
three joints. The legs of the ant are very strong so they can run very
quickly. If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant can, he could
run as fast as a racehorse. Ants can lift 20 times their own body
weight. An ant brain has about 250 000 brain cells. A human brain has
10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size
brain as a human.
The average life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days. Ants use their
antenae not only for touch, but also for their sense of smell. The head
of the ant has a pair of large, strong jaws. The jaws open and shut
sideways like a pair of scissors. Adult ants cannot chew and swallow
solid food. Instead they swallow the juice which they squeeze from
pieces of food. They throw away the dry part that is left over. The ant
has two eyes, each eye is made of many smaller eyes. They are called
The abdomen of the ant contains two stomachs. One stomach holds the
food for itself and second stomach is for food to be shared with other
ants. Like all insects, the outside of their body is covered with a hard
armour this is called the exoskeleton. Ants have four distinct growing
stages, the egg, larva, pupa and the adult. Biologists classify ants as
a special group of wasps. (Hymenoptera Formicidae) There are over 10000
known species of ants. Each ant colony has at least one or more queens.
The job of the queen is to lay eggs which the worker ants look after.
Worker ants are sterile, they look for food, look after the young, and
defend the nest from unwanted visitors. Ants are clean and tidy insects.
Some worker ants are given the job of taking the rubbish from the nest
and putting it outside in a special rubbish dump! Each colony of ants
has its own smell. In this way, intruders can be recognized immediately.
Many ants such as the common Red species have a sting which they use to
defend their nest.
The common Black Ants and Wood Ants have no sting, but they can
squirt a spray of formic acid. Some birds put ants in their feathers
because the ants squirt formic acid which gets rid of the parasites. The
Slave-Maker Ant (Polyergus Rufescens) raids the nests of other ants and
steals their pupae. When these new ants hatch, they work as slaves within
the colony. The worker ants keep the eggs and larvae in different groups
according to ages.
At night the worker ants move the eggs and larvae deep into the nest
to protect them from the cold. During the daytime, the worker ants move
the eggs and larvae of the colony to the top of the nest so that they
can be warmer. If a worker ant has found a good source for food, it
leaves a trail of scent so that the other ants in the colony can find
the food. Army Ants are nomadic and they are always moving. They carry
their larvae and their eggs with them in a long column.
The Army Ant (Ecitron Burchelli) of South America, can have as many
as 700,000 members in its colony. The Leaf Cutter Ants are farmers. They
cut out pieces of leaves which they take back to their nests. They chew
them into a pulp and a special fungus grows it. Ants cannot digest
leaves because they cannot digest cellulose. Many people think ants are
a pest but I like them. To stop them coming into my kitchen I put some
sugar outside. They they have so much to eat that they are not
interested in coming into my kitchen.
The Parasol ants grow a kind of
mushroom from which they feed. Sometimes the size of the mushrooms
chambers can be as big as a watermelon. The ants collect pieces of
leaves and flowers for nourishing the soil in which the fungus grows.
Ants keep their nests very clean. They usually have special chambers for
waste materials and dead ants. Some ant species have small scavenger
insects living inside the nest. These insects eat the waste and help to
keep the nest clean.
Some species of ants have soldiers with a plug-shaped head. The
soldiers function is to use their heads like stoppers to close the
entrance to the nest. This prevents other ants or insects getting into
the nest. To enter the hole the workers of the colony must identify
themselves by tapping the soldier's head with the antennae.
ant may live up to 18 years. She produces a chemical called 'queen
substance' that the workers lick from her body. This substance tells the
workers that the queen is well and healthy.
The Rove-beetle is an ant
parasite that lives inside the nest. It succeeds in fooling the workers
by imitating their behavior. The beetle then feeds on the ant eggs. It
even clings to the queen’s abdomen eating the eggs as she lays them!
The larvae excrete liquid waste material from their anus, every time a
worker touches their hind body. This liquid waste is very similar to
urine. The worker then licks it up and carries it away in her mouth. ant
The exploding ant is one of the most curious ones. When
the ant is threatened its abdomen explodes.
Harvester ants collect and
store seeds. This ants crack open the grains and eat their inside. Their
ant hills have many chambers filled with seeds which are robed by the
Yellow Thieves. The Yellow Thief ant builds its nest near the
Harvester's nest. These ants make small tunnels to the Harvester's seed
storages and steal their grains. Because these tunnels are very small
the larger Harvester ants can not follow.
Ants and their larvae are eaten in different parts of the world. In
Mexico, larvae of cookie crisp ants, known locally as ants that eat are
considered a great delicacy. In the Colombian department of Santander
Hormigas Culodnas (lit. : "fatass ants") Atta laevigata are toasted
alive and eaten. This tradition has come down from the native Guanes. In
parts of Thailand, ants are prepared and eaten in various ways. Khorat
ant eggs and diced flying ants are eaten as an appetizer. Weaver Ant
Eggs and Larva as well as the ants themselves maybe used in a Thai
Salad, Yum (ยำ), in a dish called Yum Khai Mod Daeng or Red Ant Egg
Salad, a dish that comes from the Issan or North-Eastern region of
Thailand. In South Africa, ants are used to help in Rooibos (Aspalathus
linearis) cultivation: They collect the plant's seeds which can then be
easily harvested by planters.
In parts of India, and throughout Burma and Siam, a paste of the
green weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) is served as a condiment with
curry. Saville Kent, in the Naturalist in The Green Ant: Their
attractive, almost sweetmeat-like translucency possibly invited the
first essays at their consumption by the human species.” Mashed up in
water, after the manner of lemon squash, “these ants form a pleasant
acid drink which is held in high favor by the natives of North
Queensland, and is even appreciated by many European palates.”
The Digger Indians of California ate the tickly acid gasters of the
large jet-black carpenter ants. The Mexican Indians eat the replete
workers, or living honey-pots, of the honey ant (Myrmecocystus).
Ant eggs in Thailand
Ants as pests
Modern society considers the ant a pest, and due to the adaptive nature
of ant colonies, eliminating one is near impossible. Pest control with
regard to ants is more a matter of controlling local populations than
eliminating an entire colony. Attempts to control ant populations of any
kind are temporary solutions.
Typical ants that are classified as pests include Pavement Ants
(otherwise known as the sugar ant), Pharaoh Ants, Carpenter Ants,
Argentine Ants, and the Red Imported Fire Ant. Control of species
populations are usually done with bait insecticides, which are either in
the form of small granules, or as a sticky liquid that is gathered by
the ants as food and then brought back to the nest where the poison is
inadvertently spread to other members of the brood — a system that can
severely reduce the numbers in a colony if used properly. Boric acid and
borax are often used as insecticides that are relatively safe for
humans. With the recent insurgence of the Red Imported Fire Ant, a
tactic called broadcast baiting has been employed, by which the
substance (usually a granule bait designed specifically for Fire Ants)
is spread across a large area, such as a lawn, in order to control
populations. Nests may be destroyed by tracing the ants' trails back to
the nest, then pouring boiling water into it to kill the queen. (Killing
individual ants is less than effective due to the secretion of
pheromones mentioned above).
Ants that tend other insects can indirectly cause pest infestations.
Many homopteran insects that are considered as horticultural pests are
controlled by the use of grease rings on the trunks of the trees. These
rings cut off the routes for ants and make the pest species vulnerable
to parasites and predators.
Leaf-cutter ants have powerful jaws which vibrate a thousand times a
second to slice off pieces of leaf. Size for size, their bodies are
amazingly powerful, able to carry pieces of leaf that weigh at least 20
times their own body weight - that's the same as a human carrying a one
ton load. Like bees, their colonies contain different sorts of workers.
Soldier leaf-cutters have huge jaws, strong enough to cut through
leather and gardener leaf-cutters work beneath ground and process the
pieces of the leaf that the harvesters bring back. The nest also
contains a queen and she lays all the eggs needed to keep the colony
supplied with new workers.
Lifestyle: Leaf-cutting ants cannot eat leaves. Instead, they carry
the cut pieces back to the nest and use it as compost to cultivate the
fungus. The fungus cannot survive outside the nest or reproduce without
the ants help. Amazingly, if the ants collect plant material that is
toxic to the fungus, the fungus seems to release a chemical signal which
stops the ants collecting that particularly plant material.
Family & friends: There can be three to eight million ants in a
single colony, which can measure 15 m across and 5 m deep.
Keeping in touch: The ants forage for leaves some distance from their
nest. They find their way home by producing and laying down pheromone
(scent) trails as they move away from the nest. These pheromones are so
powerful that each ant produces only one billionth of a gram. One gram
of this pheromone would easily be enough to make an ant trail all around
Leaf-cutting ants harvest more greenery in South American forests than
any other animal. In fact, within the rain forest, leaf-cutter ants
consume almost 20% of the annual vegetation growth! In its lifetime, a
colony of these ants may move over 20 tons of soil.
are large (¼ in–1 in) ants indigenous to many parts of the world.
They prefer dead, damp wood in which to build nests. Sometimes carpenter
ants will hollow out sections of trees. The most likely species to be
infesting a house in the United States is the Black carpenter ant,
Camponotus pennsylvanicus. However, there are over a thousand other
species in the genus Camponotus.
What They Eat
Carpenter ants feed on sources of protein and sugar. Outdoors, carpenter
ants feed on living and dead insects. They are also very attracted to
honeydew, a sweet liquid produced by aphids and scale insects. Aphids
and scales feed on trees, shrubs, and other plants. Indoors, carpenter
ants feed on meats, as well as syrup, honey, sugar, jelly, and other
sweets. Carpenter ants DO NOT eat wood. They remove wood as they create
galleries and tunnels. Most foraging is done at night between sunset and
midnight during spring and summer months. Sometimes workers travel up to
100 yards from a nest in search of food.
Where They Live
Carpenter ants nest in moist wood including rotting trees, tree roots,
tree stumps, and logs or boards lying on or buried in the ground. They
can also nest in moist or decayed wood inside buildings. Wood decay may
be caused by exposure to leaks, condensation, or poor air circulation.
Nests have been found behind bathroom tiles; around tubs, sinks,
showers, and dishwashers; under roofing, in attic beams, and under
subfloor insulation; and in hollow spaces such as doors, curtain rods,
and wall voids. Carpenter ants may also nest in foam insulation.
A parent carpenter ant colony sometimes establishes one or more
satellite nests in nearby indoor or outdoor sites. Satellite nests are
composed of workers, pupae, and mature larvae. A satellite nest does not
require moisture because the workers do not tend eggs (the eggs would
dry out without sufficient humidity). For this reason, satellite nests
can be found in relatively dry locations, such as insulation, hollow
doors, and sound wood. The workers of satellite colonies move readily
between their nest and the parent colony. In late summer, winged
reproductives (i.e. queens and males) may emerge from pupae transported
into satellite colonies. They may appear in structures in late winter
and early spring as they swarm from a satellite nest.
Carpenter ants damage wood by excavating and creating galleries and
tunnels. These areas are clean, i.e. they do not contain sawdust or
other debris, and are smooth, with a well sanded appearance
The damage to wood structures is variable. The longer a colony is
present in a structure, the greater the damage that can be done. If
structural wood is weakened, carpenter ant damage can be severe.
Make Devil's gardens by killing all surrounding plants besides lemon ant
trees. Many trees have extrafloral nectaries that provide food for ants
and the ants in turn protect the plant from herbivorous insects. Some
species like the bullhorn acacia (Acacia cornigera) in Central America
have hollow thorns that serve to house colonies of stinging ants
(Pseudomyrmex ferruginea) that defend the tree against insects, browsing
mammals, and epiphytic vines. In return, the ants obtain food from
protein-lipid Beltian bodies. Another example of this type of
ectosymbiosis comes from the Macaranga tree which have stems adapted to
house colonies of Crematogaster ants. Many tropical tree species have
seeds that are dispersed by ants.
Calliphoridae in the Old World genus Bengalia are kleptoparasites and
predators on ants and often snatch prey or brood from the adult ants. A
Malaysian phorid fly Vestigipoda myrmolarvoidea has females that are
wingless and legless and they live in the nests of ants of the genus
Aenictus, being fed and cared for by the ants.
Many species of birds show a peculiar behaviour called anting that is as
yet not fully understood. Here birds may rest on ant nests or pick and
drop ants onto their wings and feathers, presumably to rid themselves of
The fungi known as Cordyceps has been known to infect ants, causing them
to behave erratically. When other ants from the colony recognize the
behaviour, they move the infected ant far away from the nest to avoid
further spread of the parasite...
Eating Lemon Ants in the
By Christopher Minster
You’re hiking through the thick, steamy jungle of Ecuador’s rainforest.
The hot sun overhead is softened by the dense canopy of trees, vines and
other lush, green plant life. Far off, a parrot shrieks, and hairy
spiders scamper over the muddy trail in front of your feet. Suddenly,
there is a break in the impenetrable wall of green: you’ve stumbled into
an open space, a dry patch of ground dominated by a lone tree. Nothing
else grows within about twenty feet of it.
According to local belief, the strange open space in the middle of the
dense jungle is the home of a malignant forest spirit. In the local
language, it’s called a “devil’s garden” and they are fairly common in
parts of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian rainforests. If you’re with a local
guide, however, he or she will not avoid the spot: instead, he or she
may break a twig off the tree, split it open to reveal dozens of tiny
brown ants … and invite you to eat them!
The ants are, in fact, edible. They are called “lemon ants” because of
their vague tangy, lemony taste. Feel free to have a try: it won’t hurt
you and is likely to become one of your most memorable experiences in
the rainforest. But the ants are more than a tasty jungle treat:
together with the lone tree in the middle of the clearing they make up
one of the most remarkable symbiotic relationships in nature.
The ants (myrmelachista schumanni) and tree (duroia hirsuta) work
together to survive and thrive in the competitive forest. The ants get
the benefit of a home, and it’s a good deal—some ant colonies are
thought to have survived for more than 800 years. The trees gain the
advantage of room to grow—the ants are the only known insect species to
produce their own herbicide, a toxin that poisons other plants in the
area, allowing their home tree to get the sunlight it needs. The ants
bite into the leaves of any other plant species that tries to take root
in the area, injecting formic acid which slowly kills it.
Don’t plan on making a meal of lemon ants; they’re very tiny and you’d
probably have to eat the whole colony before you felt full. But the next
time you find yourself in the devil’s garden, stop for a moment and
enjoy the rainforest’s version of dessert!
This is one of the most famous mutualisms of all, the relationship
between Pseudomyrmex ants and Acacia trees. The ants defend these small
trees against herbivorous insects and vertebrates. The ants also chew
away and sting any encroaching plants, clearing an area that may be up
to 4 yd (4 m) in radius. In return, the plants give the ants food, such
as the yellow Beltian bodies seen here, and nectar from extra-floral
nectaries. The Beltian bodies contain proteins and lipids and are
produced on the youngest and most delicate leaves. The plants also
produce thorns that the ants hollow out for nests.
Ever wonder what insect causes the most painful bite on earth?
Well, It’s from this fella below:
This insect is called the Bullet Ant.
Its sting is said to be the most painful on earth.
It’s called the bullet ant because the sensation of its sting has been
likened with that of being shot by a bullet.
This bad boys dwells in the rain forests of Atlantic coastal lowland
from Nicaragua southward to the Amazon basin.
The bullet ants populates on trees and if it falls on you, it has the
habit to shriek before biting you in the ass. Seriously.
One of the first descriptions ever of a bullet ant’s sting on a human
was made in the 1920’s by Belgian natural historian Joseph Charles
Bequaert (1886-1982). Such a sting is extremely painful and often
compared with the pain caused by a bullet shot – hence the name bullet
ant. For those who have not been shot but rather stung by a wasp, the
pain caused by the sting of a bullet ant is 30 times worse…
Uhhm, did I mention it shrieks??!!
Now the best part:
Some indigenous people living in Nicaragua actually use the bullet ants
as their initiation rites to manhood.
The ants are first knocked out by drowning them in natural chloroform,
and then hundreds of them are woven into sleeves made out of leaves,
stinger facing inward. When the ants come to, boys slip the sleeve down
onto their arm. The goal of this initiation rite is to keep the sleeve
on for a full ten minutes without showing any signs of pain. When
finished, the boys’ (now men) arms are temporarily paralyzed because of
the venom, and they may shake uncontrollably for days.
And they have to do it 20 fucking times! Ahhhhh!!
A queen lays her first clutch of eggs on a leaf and protects and
feeds the larvae until they develop into mature workers. The workers
then construct leaf nests and help rear new brood laid by the queen. As
the number of workers increases, more nests are constructed and colony
productivity and growth increase significantly. Workers perform tasks
that are essential to colony survival, including foraging, nest
construction, and colony defense. Because the tasks performed by workers
are spatially and temporarily isolated, the integration and coordination
of worker activities are important in colony organization. The emergence
of an organized, complex social colony results from nonrandom repeated
interactions between individuals that follow simple behavioral rules.The
exchange of information and modulation of worker behaviour that occur
during worker-worker interactions are facilitated by the use of chemical
and tactile communication signals. These signals are used primarily in
the contexts of foraging and colony defense. Successful foragers lay
down pheromone trails that help recruit other workers to new food
sources. Pheromone trails are also used by patrollers to recruit workers
against territorial intruders. Along with chemical signals, workers also
use tactile communication signals such as attenation and body shaking to
stimulate activity in signal recipients. Multimodal communication in
Oecophylla weaver ants importantly contribute to colony
self-organization.Like many other ant species, Oecophylla workers
exhibit social carrying behavior as part of the recruitment process, in
which one worker will carry another worker in its mandibles and
transport it to a location requiring attention.
The ants...one green
as a leaf, and living upon trees, where it built a nest, in size between
that of a man's head and his fist, by bending the leaves together, and
gluing them with whitish paperish substances which held them firmly
together. In doing this their management was most curious: they bend
down four leaves broader than a man's hand, and place them in such a
direction as they choose. This requires a much larger force than these
animals seem capable of; many thousands indeed are employed in the joint
work. I have seen as many as could stand by one another, holding down
such a leaf, each drawing down with all his might, while others within
were employed to fasten the glue. How they had bent it down I had not
the opportunity of seeing, but it was held down by main strength, I
easily proved by disturbing a part of them, on which the leaf bursting
from the rest, returned to its natural situation, and I had an
opportunity of trying with my finger the strength of these little
animals must have used to get it down.
The weaver ant's ability to build capacious nests from living leaves
has undeniably contributed to their ecological success. The first phase
in nest construction involves workers surveying potential nesting leaves
by pulling on the edges with their mandibles. When a few ants have
successfully bent a leaf onto itself or drawn its edge toward another,
other workers nearby join the effort. The probability of a worker
joining the concerted effort is dependent on the size of the group, with
workers showing a higher probability of joining when group size is
large.When the span between two leaves is beyond the reach of a single
ant, workers form chains with their bodies by grasping one another's
petiole (waist). Multiple intricate chains working in unison are often
used to ratchet together large leaves during nest construction. Once the
edges of the leaves are drawn together, other workers retrieve larvae
from existing nests using their mandibles. These workers hold and
manipulate the larvae in such a way that causes them to excrete silk.
They can only produce so much silk, so the larva will have to pupate
without a cocoon. The workers then maneuver between the leaves in a
highly coordinated fashion to bind them together. Weaver ant's nests are
usually elliptical in shape and range in size from a single small leaf
folded and bound onto itself to large nests consisting of many leaves
and measure over half a meter in length. The time required to construct
a nest varies depending on leaf type and eventual size, but often a
large nest can be built in significantly less than 24 hours. Although
weaver ant's nests are strong and impermeable to water, new nests are
continually being built by workers in large colonies to replace old
dying nests and those damaged by storms.
ants Cephalotes atratus
For many species of insects, mimicry is one of the key to survival.
However in a latest findings by an insect ecologist - mimicry caused by
parasites can be life torturing for some insects such as ants.
This tropical ant of the species Cephalotes atratus is infected with a
parasitic roundworm that makes its bulbous rear end, called a gaster,
look like a juicy red berry. Researchers believe the parasites transform
the gasters to trick foraging birds into eating the ants. Birds poop out
parasite eggs, allowing the worms to spread to new ant colonies.
The Cephalotes atratus ants (gliding ants)
are common in the tropical forest canopy in Central and Latin
America. If knocked off a branch, they can glide toward the tree trunk,
grab hold, and climb back up.
Insect ecologist Steve Yanoviak says the finding is the first known
example of fruit mimicry caused by a parasite in the world.
Such as an amazing discovery, isn’t it? Too bad for the ants, they enjoy
feeding on birds’ feces which contain those worms that causes this
strange life cycle to go on. Well, that’s nature!
photos by Steve Yanoviak and National
The Ant Lion Myrmeleon
the larva excavates a conical pit in the sand by crawling backwards in
circles, at the same time flipping out sand grains with its long jaws.
As it moves round and round, the pit gradually gets deeper and deeper.
Eventually the crater reaches 2inches across and almost as deep, with
very steep walls. The slope of the funnel is adjusted to the critical
angle of repose for sand, so that the sides readily give way under the
feet of a would-be escapee. The larva waits quietly at the bottom of the
pit, with its body off to one side and concealed by the steep wall. Only
its sicklelike jaws protrude from the sand and often they are in a
When crawling insects, such as ants, inadvertently fall into the pit it
is virtually impossible for them to climb the loose sand on the steep
walls. To make matters worse, the antlion quickly flips out more sand,
thus deepening the pit and causing miniature landslides along the walls
which knock the struggling ant to the bottom. If the ant or other insect
is large enough it may escape, but usually its struggle is hopeless when
it is seized by the powerful jaws of the antlion. Antlion larvae are
capable of capturing and killing a variety of insects, and can even
subdue small spiders. Often the struggling victim is pulled beneath the
sand as its body fluids are gradually siphoned out. After consuming all
the contents, the lifeless, dry carcass is flicked out of the pit, and
the pit is readied for a new victim.