Life of ants in an anthill. Ant insect

Without additional explanations, it is impossible to unambiguously answer the question of how long ants live: the life expectancy of ants depends on the species and what caste each individual belongs to. But on average, entomologists give the following data:

• A worker ant lives from 1 to 3 years. At the same time, more small species The lifespan of an ant is shorter than that of large ants. And ants living in colder regions also live longer on average than those living in the tropics.
• Male ants live only a few weeks. Their task is to participate in mating. Later they are destroyed either by ants from their own anthill, or they die in the clutches of predators.
• - the longest living member of the colony. In some species, the lifespan of a queen can reach up to 20 years - this is 10-15 times longer than the average lifespan of a worker ant.

When speaking about how many years ants live, it is necessary to take into account the fact that some of their species, especially northern ones, hibernate during the winter. During this period, which for ants in Kolyma or Kamchatka lasts up to 9 months a year, the vital activity of the ant’s body practically stops.

Accordingly, three years in this regime is even less than one year in the Amazon jungle in total active life. But in general, when assessing life expectancy, it is necessary to take into account other features of the ants’ lifestyle and the nuances of their biology.

Which ants live longer and which ones live shorter?

The lifespan of ants depends on several factors and circumstances:

• First of all, it depends on the type of ant. For example, workers live on average 2 months, and the lifespan of a worker ant can reach 5 years.

• Caste in an anthill - soldier ants in general can live longer than those that care for the brood and queen. And the queens themselves always live longer than any worker ant. For example, the recorded record for a queen carpenter ant was 28 years, not including the larval stage!
• Nature of the work performed. Ants that spend their entire lives in an anthill live longer than foragers and soldiers, even though the latter are “programmed” to live longer. The point here is that soldiers and foragers for the most part sooner or later become victims of predators and other ants, and die before reaching their physiological limit.
• Duration of the larval stage. For example, in ants living in the Arctic Circle, due to the very short warm period of the year, larvae develop for several years, and adult ants live for several more years.
• Temperature regime: the life of ants at relatively low temperatures turns out to be longer than that of their fellows of the same species, but living in warmer areas.

Some species of ants that do not have a clear division into castes (for example, black garden ants or the same pharaoh ants) have a certain “career” in the anthill. A newborn ant first takes care of the larvae and eggs, then arranges the anthill, and at the end of its life, searches for and obtains food.

This is very logical - in an anthill it always concentrates greatest number viable individuals, and due to the high mortality rate among foragers, the ranks of the latter are replenished only as needed by “outdated” individuals.

Long-lived ants and some records

The longest-living ones are considered to be large tropical ants, whose life takes place in an anthill. Among them are bulldog ants, in which workers can live up to 5 years, and queens can live up to 20-22 years.

Asian and African nomadic ants live much shorter, but they are known for their other records. For example, the queen of the African black ant can reach a length of 5 cm, being the largest ant in general, and the queen of the Asian wandering ant can lay up to 120 thousand eggs per day - about 2 eggs every second. Almost no other living creatures on earth can boast of such fertility.

How ants live in an anthill

All ants live in large families with a more or less complex structure. More primitive ants do not have a clear division into castes, and each worker individual can perform different functions. More evolutionarily advanced ants have several castes in each family, representatives of each of which perform strictly defined operations.

This is interesting

For example, leaf-cutter ants have 7 castes in a family, differing from each other in size and appearance. In total, all ants perform 29 different functions.

The families in which ants live can consist of several tens to several million individuals. For example, wandering ants have between 2 and 20 million ants in one family.

You can see a little about how stray ants live in the video.

Exciting video: hunting of nomadic (stray) ants

Almost all ants live in anthills, which they either build on their own or convert various cavities in the ground, wood, under stones or into human housing. The life of ants in an anthill is distinguished by the highest organization and order.

Every member big family clearly knows his functions and performs them extremely diligently. Communication between insects occurs through chemical signals, and news travels very quickly here. For example, within a few minutes after the death of the queen, every ant will know about it.

The video clearly shows the life of ants in an anthill, arranged in a special glass formicarium:

Video about the life of ants in a formicarium - a home anthill

This is interesting

Stray ants are a notable exception to the rule. They do not have a permanent anthill, and they constantly roam in search of feeding grounds. At the same time, at the place of temporary dislocation, the worker ants adhere to each other, capturing the body of their neighbor with their jaws, and form a huge anthill-ball, in which life continues to boil.

Ants live almost all over the world. They are only absent in Greenland, Antarctica and some oceanic islands. Where ants live, they have managed to conquer almost all biotopes, inhabiting the permafrost zone, forests, trees, steppes and even deserts, in which they feed on insects dying from the heat. But regardless of the biotope, the anthill of any ants is a complex structure in which eggs and larvae are kept in optimal microclimate conditions for them.

A little about the life of an anthill in general

Almost every anthill begins with a small hole or cavity under a stone in which a fertilized female hides. Without feeding or showing itself on the surface, she lays her first eggs and feeds her first helpers with special trophic eggs.

And only after the first offspring turn from larvae into adult ants, the female will begin to receive food from them. They will begin to care for the eggs and expand the anthill.

For many ants, all the garbage from the anthill is piled up near the exit, and large piles are formed from it. Such anthills are known in our forests - they can reach a height of 2 m.

The lifestyle of ants living in northern latitudes involves prolonged experience winter period. In those areas where positive temperatures remain underground, ants do not hibernate, but prepare supplies for the winter, and the anthill continues to live normally throughout the winter. In this case, the female stops laying eggs, and all exits from the anthill are walled up.

This is interesting

Harvester ants can collect up to 1 kg of grains and seeds in the anthill, which are used by the colony for food during the cold season.

Where the ground freezes, ants can spend the winter in a state of hypothermia. They set records here too: the larvae of Kamchatka ants can cool down to minus 50°C. Of course, during this period the insects do not move, and their internal organs practically do not work.

Usually, once a year, sexual individuals hatch in an anthill, which simultaneously fly out, swarm, mate, and the females then disperse in search of new places for anthills. Sometimes a very large family can split up, and part of it goes to a new place to organize a new colony.

In general, ants are an example of altruism and complete self-sacrifice for the good of the colony. Each of them is ready to die defending the anthill from the enemy, and each of them works selflessly throughout his short or long life. It is not surprising that ants are the most numerous insects on Earth today, surpassing any other group of arthropods in the number of individuals.

Interesting video: how ants attack and eat other insects

According to research, ants appeared on Earth more than 100 million years ago. They are classified as members of the order Hymenoptera, and are the most socially developed species in nature. However, there are a number of amazing facts about ants that have become known to mankind thanks to myrmecology, a science that studies their behavior and life activity.

general information

They live in families in anthills - they can build entire huge cities underground with long passages and corridors, they are divided into castes:

• winged females and males;
• wingless workers.

The smallest representatives of this family measure about 1 mm, maximum length is about 30-50 mm, weight 1-150 mg. The length of some fossil remains is 60 mm.

The African ant Dorylus is the largest living member of the family. The pharaoh ant is the smallest.

Researchers have calculated that for every inhabitant of planet Earth there are about 1 million ants.

It is believed that termites are direct relatives, however, this is an erroneous opinion, since in their origin they are closer to cockroaches.

Numerousness

They are considered the most common insects and live almost everywhere. to the globe, except Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland. It is their share that accounts for about 10-25% of all living beings in the world. Each individual colony can number from 10 to a couple of million units.

Diversity

According to Wikipedia, there are more than 14,000 species and 485 genera of ants in the world. In the territory Russian Federation more than 260 and 44 units are known, respectively.

Queen status

The main role in the family is given to the ant queen (queen, queen), who manages the nest and also lays eggs. Exploring amazing life ants, scientists have found that the queen mates only once in her entire life. The male's sperm will be used throughout the queen's life to fertilize the eggs (approximately 12-20 years). The lifespan of worker insects is 3 years, for males - several weeks.

Supercolony

Residents of several nests can be united into a colony, which is located over an area of ​​tens of hectares. It is known that a settlement of ants consisting of 306 million individuals was found on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. Their “home” had about 45,000 nests and covered an area of ​​2.7 square kilometers.

Another large population, represented by Argentine ants, covers an area of ​​3 countries at once - Spain, France and Italy.

The 2015 find in the Tomsk region near the village of Zavarzino is rightfully considered the largest anthill in Russia. Experts believe that it took about 20 years to build. His measurements impressed even experienced specialists and local historians - a height of 2.5 m and a diameter of 5.1 m. Large specimens are also found in the Omsk region and Buryatia.

Features of the structure and functions of the body

Without ears as the main organs of hearing, sensors on the knees and feet of insects help to detect vibrations and vibrations in the soil, so they “hear” what is happening around them.

Their brain, consisting of 250,000 cells, is considered the largest of any insect.

The body's digestive system includes 2 stomachs:

1. satisfies individual food needs;
2. ensures exchange with other members of the colony.

Often there are specimens that have a transparent color or acquire color depending on the food consumed.

Compound eyes, built from multiple microlenses, provide excellent motion discrimination, but do not convey a sharp and clear image.

Lesser fire ants are interesting because they have unique ability to natural cloning. Representatives of both sexes increase their population completely independently of each other; mixing of their gene pools does not occur.

Breath control

During high humidity or floods, their ability to close the respiratory organs - spiracles - helps to survive in the current conditions, and sometimes even to submerge under water for some time (2-8 days).

Protection

The main defense tools are jaw bites, stings or spraying of acid, which is successfully used as a painkiller for rheumatism, gout and arthritis. With hypersensitivity, the bite can be quite painful, and certain types are deadly or cause a severe allergic reaction, anaphylactic shock. In this case, an antidote is used.

Smell and communication

Thanks to the long antennae, smell is perceived, so it is quite easy to distinguish your relative from a “stranger”. When moving along the ground, insects leave their trail behind them in the form of pheromones to find the way back to the nest and warn other individuals. Make extensive use of visual orientation and navigation skills magnetic field Earth.

Transformation into a "zombie"

Social organization

The division of labor between all individuals of the family ensures coordination of the implementation of assigned tasks and goals

Adaptation to the environment

Easily adapt to changes environment and places of residence - high level their organization makes it possible to quickly and efficiently carry out resettlement and development of a new territory. They also have the ability to master all kinds of resources - soil, wood, stones, foliage.

Hard work

Observers are always surprised by this property of insects, since from the outside it looks like chaotic movement. However, each individual has a specific task, which it hurries to complete flawlessly:

• building a nest;
• security;
• maintaining order and cleanliness;
• food preparation;
• the hassle of caring for sick family members and future generations;
• other daily work.

If it is noticed that a worker is working and performing his duties poorly, such a member of the colony will be immediately expelled. Similar demands are put forward to the queen: if there are few offspring, the queen will be re-elected.

An amazing fact about ants can also be confidently called the ability of these little workers to lift a load weighing tens of times their own.

Training the younger generation

Among the inhabitants of the nest there is a certain category of insect mentors who select and train the growing individuals. Students repeat classes and practice skills with their teacher, the tasks are constantly becoming more difficult.

Wars and slaves

Some species in families have a separate category of slave individuals - these are captive pupae captured during an attack on another nest. They are assigned the same functions as in their own family.

Burial

In order to prevent the spread of diseases and infections and to maintain the cleanliness of the nest, responsible workers move the bodies of dead family members outside the anthill. Scientific name such a process is necrophoresis.

Caring for fellow tribesmen

Ants tend to take care of sick or weakened family members; they provide them with food and drink until they recover.

Procurement of stocks

Some species that live in deserts and savannas collect seeds of various plants during drought. Then the accumulated reserves are periodically taken outside to dry, and this is done only in sunny weather.

Mushroom cultivation

190 known species ants are engaged in breeding mushrooms for the purpose of eating them. Elements of the bodies of various insects and their feces, as well as leaves of living plants, are used as a substrate for mycelium.

Insect farming

Mealybugs, aphids, scale insects and caterpillars are bred to subsequently feed the entire colony. Shepherds look after the “livestock” in the fields, and also collect honeydew on plants and the sweet liquid honeydew, which is secreted by the listed insects. These are the 2 main sources of carbohydrates that are necessary for the full development and functioning of the body.

Animal breeding and management Agriculture to provide food for modern stage development is inherent only to humans.

Ants as a component of national dishes

It is known that eating larvae is common in Asian and African countries. Wood ants are used to make a sauce that is used as a seasoning in Southeast Asia.

Escamoles

This dish has been included and established in Mexican cuisine since the times of the Aztecs. To prepare it, use the larvae and pupae of ants that live in the roots. local tree agaves. To get these ingredients, you need to dig a hole up to 8 m deep, because this is where the nests with this delicacy are located. This expensive dish tastes like butter with nutty notes.

At the head of the anthill is usually the queen is a large insect, which continuously lay eggs, ensuring the replenishment of the community with new residents. Worker ants perform daily tasks such as caring for eggs and pupae, searching for food, and repairing the anthill. Soldiers stand guard at the entrances to the home and cut off strangers. Males and females participate in the process of reproduction.

Soldiers

Warrior ants are a separate subspecies of simple workers, differing slightly from the latter large sizes. In addition, such an ant the mandibles are more developed, whose muscles occupy most of the head. In some ants, due to the characteristic structure of the head, the soldiers have lost the ability to eat independently - as a result, the workers have to feed them.

The main function of soldier ants in the community is the protection of the territory and the anthill from the penetration of enemies into it, the protection of foragers delivering food. In addition, soldiers with their powerful jaws help to dismember the prey into several parts if the workers cannot carry it away on their own.

Role of the worker ant in the family and structural features

Builder ants are first view, which appears at the uterus after the founding of a new anthill. They are the ones who are involved in building the colony, preparing food and caring for eggs and pupae. In a developed anthill, workers have a predominant number among all individuals.

REFERENCE! The distribution of professions among ant workers depends on their general condition and mental tendencies.

So, proactive insects with good reactions become scouts and hunters, and slow and leisurely individuals go to graze aphids and collect sweetish secretions. In addition, a change of profession occurs as one ages.

Young individuals usually perform work inside the nest - take care of eggs, females, build new passages and chambers.

If a significant part of the workers of one profession dies - for example, they are destroyed by birds or as a result of chemical treatment, their responsibilities are redistributed among the remaining inhabitants of the anthill.

How strong are ants and how much weight do they lift?

The insect has a huge reserve of endurance - an ant can lift and carry 50 times its own weight. Moreover, if several individuals work together and combine their efforts, this figure can increase many times over. This is possible due to the fact that large percentage muscle per unit of body weight.

The strength of ants allows them to successfully carry out tasks of searching and preparing food. If an insect is unable to lift prey, it can for a long time drag along.

REFERENCE! Many ants, connecting with their paws, can form long living bridges to overcome streams or crevices. Such bundles can support a weight of several kilograms.

Who is the main king ant?

All life rests in an anthill to the queen uterus. She does not participate either in protecting the anthill or in collecting food, but it is this individual that is entrusted with the task of maintaining and increasing the size of the colony

The queen is a former female that has been fertilized by a male and was able to organize a new anthill. In the process of raising the first population, they bite off their wings.

The uterus lives up to 20 years, laying up to 500 thousand eggs during this time. As long as this individual is alive, the colony has every chance of recovery, no matter what losses it suffers.

In the anthill, the hierarchy of society is clearly established. At the head of the entire settlement is the queen. The most numerous are workers, who, depending on their preferences, can perform a variety of tasks - searching for food, exploration, caring for the queen and eggs. Soldiers are individuals with large, powerful jaws who protect the anthill and foragers.

Photo

Next you will see a photo of the hierarchy of ants - from workers to soldiers:

Useful video

In this video you will learn more about the insect:

Useful materials

An ant in isolation usually does not appear to be a complex, intelligent or dangerous creature. But this impression is deceptive.

Species of ants living alone are unknown to science. All of them are kept by large families that last for many years. The inhabitants of each nest are related to each other, so from a biological point of view it is precisely a family. But from the standpoint of our human ideas, an anthill rather resembles a city, the population of which is divided into castes and strictly organized.

Ant castes

Winged

If you see an ant with wings, then this is a representative of one of two special and small ant classes.

The minority in ant society is the caste of male ants. Their life is short, and their fate is unenviable - after mating with a female, the “macho ants” die.

The second caste is oviparous females (“queens”). There are not many of them either. Depending on the species, each anthill is home to from one to several hundred “queens”. “Rulers” live a long time - with a successful combination of circumstances, each can reign for up to 20 years.

Females and males are winged. During the only mating flight in her life, the queen may meet several partners. As a result of this peculiar orgy, she becomes a “machine” for the reproduction of ants for the rest of her life and will lay tens of thousands of fertilized eggs in the future. After mating, the female sheds her wings and is either accepted into an existing anthill, or she starts a new family.

"Proletariat"

The vast majority of the population of any anthill is the third caste - workers. Although ants are usually called in the masculine gender, they are all physiologically underdeveloped sterile females. They do not have wings, and their ovipositors are turned into stings - personal military weapons designed for defense and attack.

Workers provide the livelihood for the family. They build and protect the nest, provide the anthill with food, clean and feed the “queens” and “children,” protect the feeding area, ensure the flight of winged individuals, etc. The number of workers in the family varies - from several tens to hundreds of thousands and even 10- 15 million. The life expectancy of six-legged proletarians is from 4 to 7 years.

Career ladder

Typically, a worker ant changes several professions during its life. The young are busy inside the nest: they look after the female (“retinue”), children, that is, eggs and larvae (“nannies”), and older workers (“grooms”), clean and repair underground chambers and passages (“repairmen”), store water (“barrel ants”).

After working for 1-3 years and gaining experience and qualifications, the ants are transferred to the reserve, where they can rest a little and allow new generations of young workers to take care of themselves. Approximately a third of the “proletariat” is in reserve, but they must be constantly prepared to deal with the consequences of accidents and natural disasters.

The ranks of “employees” working outside the nest are also replenished from the reserve - builders, foragers (scouts, hunters or food gatherers), water carriers, orderlies, guards, and experienced veteran observers.

Vertical of power

Each anthill clearly maintains a certain ratio of individuals different groups. This happens in several ways at once. The managerial decisions of the “queen” are of primary importance. They are conveyed to subordinates through various substances secreted by various glands of her body.

If there are many egg-laying females in the nest, then new winged individuals do not appear for a long time. But at certain moments, the ruling “queens” feel the approach of old age and stimulate the appearance of young “princesses” and their male partners. To achieve this, the females secrete a special liquid, which the “nannies” feed to a limited number of selected larvae. Each of them subsequently grows into a winged female or male, depending on the dose of “nectar” received.

After this, the following often happens: the same “nannies” who looked after the heirs from the moment they were born, without sentimentality, kick them out of their home.

It happens that there are too many larvae of future sexually mature males and females. Then the extra ones are simply eaten - the protein should not go to waste. On the other hand, if there is an overproduction of worker larvae in the nest, then this reduces the fertility of the “queens” for a certain time.

What is the harm of ants?

Many species of ants are considered beneficial to humans, but two species - turf and garden ants (black and red) - cause harm to gardens and vegetable gardens. In particular, these insects use the sweet secretions of sucking pests as an additional (and sometimes the main) source of nutrition. For this reason, ants protect aphids, psyllids, scale insects and false scale insects from attacks by enemies, and contribute to their settlement and reproduction. And our plants are left with bloodless leaves, contaminated with sticky honeydew, which serves as a breeding ground for sooty fungi.

In addition, the inhabitants of anthills damage the roots, eat the seeds in the soil without leaving a trace, and gnaw on seedlings and seedlings with appetite.

3 “clean” ways to fight ants

Scare them away. Ants don't like certain smells. Place leaves of mint, tansy, wormwood, and anise in places where insects accumulate.

Or fill the anthill with slaked lime, dry mustard or ground pepper. Water the soil around the nest and ants' paths vegetable oil— add a crushed head of garlic to a glass of oil.

No entry allowed! On tree trunks whose foliage is inhabited by colonies of aphids, you can put a funnel made of any material with a smooth, non-wettable surface and inner side Lubricate the funnels with a thin layer of Vaseline or grease. This trap will have to be periodically replaced with a fresh one.

Pour boiling water over it. Try late in the evening (since at this time most of the inhabitants of the anthill are “at home”) to pour boiling water over the ants’ nest. Repeat this procedure several times until you are sure that all underground inhabitants have died. Especially the “queens”.

Dmitry BELOV,

Candidate of Biological Sciences

Of all insects, ants are considered the most hardworking and hardy. Their dedication to family and work still amazes people. After all, there is a lot to learn from such small and fragile creatures. Ants live in colonies and each has its own strictly defined job and responsibility. How does life work in an anthill?

Ants always choose a place for an anthill and materials for their house carefully. The anthill itself consists of an above-ground part and an underground nest. On top it is covered with twigs and needles, which protect the home from bad weather. And even if it looks unattractive in appearance, there is a whole town inside.

Inputs and outputs

Entrances and exits serve not only to enter and exit, but also perfectly ventilate the room. The strongest and largest ants guard the entrance to the anthill, covering it with their body. Before it rains, the entrance is closed to keep all passages and chambers dry.

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Solarium

This is usually the upper chamber, or room. Due to its location, it heats up very quickly and ants come here to warm themselves. And in the spring, they can spread heat on their bodies, warming up the entire anthill.

Cemetery

If you go lower down the anthill, you may stumble upon piles of dead ants and garbage. All this is put into a separate cell, which is not very deep and not far from the ventilation.

Wintering chamber

Like bears, ants also hibernate to survive the harsh cold. For this they need their own den. Usually it is located somewhere in the middle of the anthill.

Storage

Ants store plant seeds in storage in case they cannot find food for themselves. Some ants take care of the food and even take it out into the sun to dry it.

Royal chambers

The queen of ants, the queen, lives in the royal chambers. Usually she is also the first resident in her colony. The queen very rarely leaves the anthill. The whole point of her life is to lay eggs.

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Nursery and kindergarten in an anthill

These are chambers in which eggs, larvae and pupae are stored. Nannies are nearby all the time, because the larvae need food and round-the-clock supervision. They move them up or down the anthill depending on the weather, trying to always keep them warm and in the required humidity.

Pantry

The place where all the most nutritious things are located. This is where the ants store caterpillars and other food they have caught.

During its life, an ant can perform only one job, and can even change with other ants. But he carries out any assignment with great precision and dedication. Works requiring large physical activity, more often performed by young and hardy ants.