You may never have thought about it before but ants are world travelers. The tiny insects live nearly everywhere on earth and form their homes in organized colonies. Scientists estimate that these little creatures have lived on Earth for more than 100 million years.
Most ants are omnivores, so when they ants get hungry they look for fruits, seeds and other insects for a meal. The little insects don't live very long, just about 45 to 60 days, although there are some worker and queen ants that live longer. You'll find that each is normally 2.to 7 mm long with six legs. Each leg has three joints. These amazing insects are pretty burly for their size. They can lift as much as 20 times their body weight.
Ants are pretty smart for being so small -- each tiny insect has 250,000 brain cells. That's the largest among all the insects. It's an interesting fact that the combined weight of all the ants in the world is about the same or greater than the combined weight of all the people on earth. Male ants generally live briefer lives than female ants.
In an ant colony there are males, females and workers. Each colony has as many as several million ants. When a colony gets too big, the winged males and females fly to a new site and start over. The males and females mate in flight.
The queen ant is the head of the colony. After she lays her eggs to start the new colony, she will shed her wings. Remarkably, the queen ant mates only once. The sperm from that union is used for years to produce thousands of offspring. Each ant knows their place in the colony. They have elaborate social structures in which the various jobs are divided among the different ants. The ants are colored in different shades of green, blue, purple and yellow depending on the kind of work they perform. It's the yellow ant's job to clean up the nest while the orange ants are in charge of caring for the new eggs and young ants.
Ant nests are kept very clean and special compartments are designated for garbage and dead ants. The queen ant has a long lifespan and emits a chemical that workers lick away from her. It tells them that she is healthy.
Most ants are omnivores, so when they ants get hungry they look for fruits, seeds and other insects for a meal. The little insects don't live very long, just about 45 to 60 days, although there are some worker and queen ants that live longer. You'll find that each is normally 2.to 7 mm long with six legs. Each leg has three joints. These amazing insects are pretty burly for their size. They can lift as much as 20 times their body weight.
Ants are pretty smart for being so small -- each tiny insect has 250,000 brain cells. That's the largest among all the insects. It's an interesting fact that the combined weight of all the ants in the world is about the same or greater than the combined weight of all the people on earth. Male ants generally live briefer lives than female ants.
In an ant colony there are males, females and workers. Each colony has as many as several million ants. When a colony gets too big, the winged males and females fly to a new site and start over. The males and females mate in flight.
The queen ant is the head of the colony. After she lays her eggs to start the new colony, she will shed her wings. Remarkably, the queen ant mates only once. The sperm from that union is used for years to produce thousands of offspring. Each ant knows their place in the colony. They have elaborate social structures in which the various jobs are divided among the different ants. The ants are colored in different shades of green, blue, purple and yellow depending on the kind of work they perform. It's the yellow ant's job to clean up the nest while the orange ants are in charge of caring for the new eggs and young ants.
Ant nests are kept very clean and special compartments are designated for garbage and dead ants. The queen ant has a long lifespan and emits a chemical that workers lick away from her. It tells them that she is healthy.
About the Author:
In addition to insect facts, this author also regularly blogs about torsion spring garage door and garage cabinet plans.
