Ants are insects like no other.. In fact, they have talents and abilities that, in some cases, exceed those of humans. It is even thought that thousands of ants in an anthill actually behave like a single living thing. Their complex and cooperative societies with many specializations allow them to survive and thrive. in really great condition. Then we explain ten cool things about ants as the portal shows scienceofhoy.comShow that they are one of the most fascinating organisms on the planet.
1. They have superhuman powers
Ants can carry objects exceeding 50 times their own body weight by dragging them with their jaws, giving an idea of the enormous force they exert. Compared to its size, its muscles are thicker than larger animals, even humans. Proportionally, if a person had muscles like those of ants, he could launch a car several meters away with his arms.
2. Soldier ants use their heads to plug holes.
Some species, such as soldier ants, have their heads modified and shaped to fit the entrance of the nest. This way, they sit just inside the entrance, blocking access to the slot, and their heads act as a spigot to keep intruders away. When a worker returns to the anthill, he touches the soldier’s head to let the guard know that it belongs to the colony, and the soldier lets him pass.
3. They can ‘deal’ with plants
ant plants or mymecophytes They are plants that have natural holes where ants can shelter or feed. These spaces can be hollow spines, stems or even petioles. Ants live in such holes, feeding on sugary plant secretions or the secretions of insects that suck the sap. What does a plant achieve by offering such accommodation? Ants protect the host plant from herbivorous insects and can even prune off parasitic plants trying to grow on it.
4. More ant mass than humans on earth
The total biomass of all humans on Earth is not as large as the biomass of all ants living on the planet. In other words, there are more ants on Earth than humans. Moreover, scientists estimate that for every person on the planet there are at least 1.5 million of these insects. More than 12,000 different species are known to exist, and they are found on every continent except Antarctica. Most live in tropical regions. 3.5 million of them can live in the 4,000-square-metre Amazon forest.
5. They build insect ‘farms’
Ants will do almost anything to obtain the sugary secretions of sap-sucking insects such as aphids or aphids. Some ants produce aphids to keep a close source of honeydew. The ants take the sap produced by aphids and in turn protect their eggs. In this way, ants create real insect farms, which, by the way, are very harmful to our plants. The tiny aphids suck the sap from the most sensitive parts of the plants and turn it into molasses, a type of sugary gelatinous liquid much appreciated by ants.
6. Some ants enslave others
Some ant species enslave members of other species and force them to perform trivial tasks for their colony. ants honeypot They even enslave specimens of their own kind to take individuals from foreign colonies under their command. their queen polyergus Also known as Amazonian ants, raid ant colonies formica unsuspecting. The Amazon queen finds and kills the queen. formicaand eventually enslave this queen’s workers. Enslaved workers help the usurper queen raise her own offspring. when he has a child polyergus when it reaches adulthood, its sole purpose is to raid other colonies. formica and to bring back their pupae, thereby ensuring a constant supply of enslaved workers.
7. They already lived with dinosaurs
Ants evolved about 130 million years ago during the early Cretaceous period. Most fossil evidence of insects is found in fragments of ancient amber or fossilized plant resin. The oldest known ant fossil is a primitive and now extinct species named after it. Sphercomyrma frey , found in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey (USA). While this “only” fossil is 92 million years old, another ant fossil shown to be nearly the same age has clear ancestry with modern ones, suggesting a much longer evolutionary line than previously assumed.
8. They started farming long before humans
Mushroom-growing ants began their agricultural ventures about 50 million years before humans even thought of growing their own plants. The latest findings suggest that ants began farming 70 million years ago, during the early Tertiary period. And even more surprising: They used sophisticated horticultural techniques to increase the yield of their crops, including the secretion of antibiotic chemicals to inhibit mold growth and fertilization protocols using fertilizers.
9. ‘Super-colonies’ could span thousands of kilometers
Native to South America, Argentine ants now live on every continent except Antarctica due to accidental introductions. Therefore, they are an invasive species. Each ant colony has a unique chemical profile that allows group members to recognize each other and alert the colony to the presence of strangers. Scientists have recently discovered that huge supercolonies in Europe, North America, and Japan share the same chemical profile—that is, they are essentially a global supercolonial.
10. Scout ants create scent trails to guide others
By following the pheromone trails set by the colony’s scout ants, their foraging mates can efficiently find and store food. A scout first leaves the anthill in search of food and wanders around randomly until he finds something edible. It then consumes some of the food and returns to its nest in a straight line. On their way back, scout ants leave a trail of pheromones, which are the special scents they secrete and which they direct their nestmates to food. The foragers then follow the path set by the scout, each adding more scent to the path to strengthen the path for the others.
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