Chinese name: Ant
Nicknames: Ant, Xuanju, Kunqi
Field: animal kingdom
Phylum: Arthropod phylum
Class: Insecta
Objective: Hymenoptera.
Suborder: Lepidoptera
Family: Vespidoidea, Formicidae
Ant (pinyin: mǐyǐ；; English: Ant, French: fourmi) is a common insect, which is easy to identify. Generally small (0.5cm-3cm), with four colors of black, yellow, red and white, the body wall is elastic, smooth or slightly hairy. Chewing, the palate is developed. Antennas are knee-shaped, with long stalks and 2-3 enlarged ends. The whole antenna is divided into 4~ 13 segments. Abdominal knot. Some have wings, some have no wings. The front feet are comb-shaped with large spacing, which is a corner cleaner (used to clean tentacles). It is a polymorphic social insect.
Ant characteristics
It is estimated that only about half of the ants (about 1 170050 species) have been described. More extensive research on ant fauna is needed. There are common domestic ants. Ants are typical social groups. There are three social factors: individuals of the same species can cooperate with each other to take care of their larvae; There is a clear division of labor; At least two generations in the ant colony overlap, and future generations can take care of the previous generation for a period of time. [ 1]
Nesting ants are definitely experts in architecture. There are many compartments in the nest, and these compartments have their own uses. The queen ant is the biggest. There is one in the desert.
The ant's nest looks like a castle from a distance, which is 4.5 meters high. When those nests are abandoned, they will be used by some animals as their own nests. The bottom of the nest is for the queen. The queen's task is to eat, mate and have children. The ant nest is solid, safe and comfortable, and the roads extend in all directions. There is a circle of soil outside the ant nest. There are also some food storage places, which are ventilated and cool, warm in winter and cool in summer, and the food is not easy to deteriorate. [2]
Edit this ant colony division of labor
There are generally three levels: queen ants, male ants and worker ants. Some species live in nests of other species, and their larvae are fed by worker ants of the host. 1. Queen ant: The female with reproductive ability, or female ant, or queen ant, is the largest in the colony, especially with large abdomen, developed reproductive organs, short antennae, small chest and feet, wings, wings falling off or no wings. The main responsibility is to lay eggs, breed offspring and manage this big family.
2. Female ant: a female with reproductive ability after mating. After mating, she lost her wings and became a new queen ant, commonly known as "princess" or "angel".
3. Male ant: or father ant. Small head, undeveloped upper jaw and slender tentacles. There are developed reproductive organs and external genitalia, whose main function is to mate with the queen ant, commonly known as "prince" or "mosquito".
4. Worker ants: capable ants. Wingless, undeveloped female, usually the smallest individual in the group, but the largest number. The compound eye is very small, and the monocle is very small or not. The maxilla, antennae and three pairs of feet are well developed and good at walking. Worker ants are infertile. The main duties of worker ants are to build and expand nests, collect food and feed larvae and queens.
5. Soldier ant: "Soldier ant" is a common name of some ant species, and it is a female ant without reproductive ability. With a big head and a well-developed upper jaw, it can crush hard food and become a fighting weapon when defending groups.
Main types
Fierce ants
Fierce ants
First, it was described by Jerdon in 185 1. The species he described is Harpegnathos Saltalor. He pointed out that this ant is three-quarters of an inch long and will jump up and run away when it is frightened or disturbed. They have strong jaws and powerful tail spines. They nest underground, especially at the roots of plants, and prey on small insects. Boneline is a kind of ant family, which is distributed in humid areas of subtropical and tropical regions all over the world. Not common in big cities. They are all carnivorous or predatory ants, but some species also prey in groups. Very few polymorphisms. Nodule 1, almost without anterior stalk, obviously contracted between the two segments at the base of the posterior abdomen, and exposed the caudate spine. There are 42 genera and about 2000 species recorded in the world.
Little yellow ant
Worker ants are small, with a body length of only about 1.5-2 mm, and are distributed all over China. They often nest and inhabit in kitchens, closed balconies and cracks in walls, which is harmful.
Ants with big heads
One of the most important harmful ant species in China, such as Beijing, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, generally nests in the corner of outdoor foundation and invades buildings to steal food.
Rochelle ant
It is widely distributed in China, and often nests in roadside, corner and crevice, invades indoors and steals food.
Smelly ant
Distributed in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and South China, it nests in outdoor trunks or roots, and sometimes invades indoor hazards.
Leaf-cutting ant
Leaf-cutting ants cut leaves from trees and other plants and use them to grow fungi. They feed their larvae with growing fungi (adults mainly feed on the juice of their chopped leaves). Only 38 species of ants belonging to two genera (Atta and Acromyrmex) can actually cut leaves.
Fierce ant
Also known as "Australian Giant Ants" and "Bulldog Ants", their bodies are relatively large among ant species, with the largest being 5 cm. They have thorns, which can kill their enemies. Bulldog ants in Queensland can grow to three centimeters.
Fire ant
Fire ant is a kind of fire ant. It is an agricultural and medical pest, which originated in South America. /kloc-0 was introduced to the United States in the 1930s, to Australia and Taiwan Province Province from the United States in 200/kloc-0 and 2002 through containers and turf, and then to Wuchuan City, Guangdong Province, China Province through domestic garbage, and then to other cities in the province and Hong Kong and Macao.
Arrow ant
The scientific name is "spotted-winged locust" They are ants living in the Sahara desert environment in Africa, and they are also one of the most heat-resistant species in the animal kingdom at present.
Big-toothed ant
Odontomachus bauri, also known as jaw-trapping ant, is one of the fastest carnivores in nature. A study on PARALICHTHYS olivaceus showed that its jaw closing speed could reach 126-230 km/h at the fastest.
army ant
Army ants live in the Amazon river basin and like to live in groups. Generally, a group has one or two million. They are migratory ants, have no fixed residence, and are used to looking for prey in action.
Harvest ants
A generic term for several different kinds of ants that collect seeds and leaves. Harvest Meso species, collect seeds, peel and store them. Leaf-cutting ants (Atta) collect leaves to cultivate fungi as food. Some species of the genus Pheidole have a strong sense of taste and can be used to crush harvested seeds. Pogonomyrmex stung to death.
Weaving ant
Weaving ants, their name comes from their unique living habits: a group of ants work together, spit out silk, and bind fresh leaves into nests. Their life span can reach 8- 10 weeks.
argentine ant
Argentine ants originally lived in Argentina, but they have spread all over the world except Africa, seriously affecting the local ecological environment. Argentine ants originally lived only in South America. Although this black ant is only 3 mm long, it is extremely aggressive.
Nomadic ant
The specific situation is unknown, and tens of thousands of them can leave the nest together in groups.
Honey ants.
In the desert of North America, honey ant must learn to use his body to store food. Their bodies are filled with a lot of liquid to store food. When necessary, you can regain nutrients in your body by ruminating. There is also a Mexican honey ant, which lives on the sap of sweet oak trees. Smart honey ant not only meets the needs of daily life, but also makes extra sweet juice into honey and carefully stores it in a "live honey bucket". These "live honey barrels" are some ants who enjoy special treatment. Apart from storing honey, they no longer participate in any other labor. When the ant colony runs out of food, the "live honey bucket" will "open the warehouse to release food" to help its compatriots.
Military ant
This is a superorganism in motion. A large number of "Eciton burchellii" army ants are forming an attack formation.
Bullet ant
This is the most poisonous ant, located in the Amazon rainforest, with a body length of 2.5-4cm. The pain of being stung by it is like a bullet, which will last for 24 hours (it may weaken after a few hours).
Fierce ant larvae
This kind of ant is a kind of Bonin ant, and it has not been formally classified. Pericarpine is mainly distributed in subtropical and tropical humid areas of the earth. It is hardly common in big cities. Boneline is a carnivorous or predatory ant, which is the most primitive life style and morphological structure in Formicidae. Ant nests are generally small, with only a few hundred individuals at most. Most people don't feed in groups, but they feed alone, but some species also hunt in groups. Bonenglin has two rows of teeth in the maxilla and 12 nodes in the antenna. The leaflets at the root of the antenna in the front of the head are also the characteristics of this ant.
Ants formed a group, which was also known through marriage and flight. Love at first sight after acquaintance, mating in flight or after flight. The groom won't live long.
soldier ant
The ants died soon after mating, leaving the "widow" queen ant to live a lonely life alone. The queen ant takes off her wings and chooses suitable soil and place to nest underground. She is "fighting alone" and her strength is limited. She can only temporarily build a small room as a place to live, so that her pregnant body has a delivery room. After the eggs in the body mature and produce, the larvae hatch and the queen ant is busy. Every young ant is fed food from her mouth until these young ants grow into adults and can live independently. When the first workers grow up, they dig holes to the outside world to find food, and then expand the building area of their nests to provide housing for more and more family members. From then on, the queen ant who had suffered a lot sat down to enjoy life and became the commander-in-chief of this big family. The work of raising young ants and feeding queens is undertaken by worker ants. But the queen will continue to lay eggs to breed everyone.
ant
Family. There are many forms of ant nests, most of which nest in underground soil, dig tunnels, secret rooms and houses, and pile up excavated materials and leaves near the entrance to form hills for protection. Some ants use leaves, stems and petioles of plants. Build nests and hang them on trees or rocks. Other ants live in rotten wood in forest areas. More specifically, some ants nest in or near other kinds of ant nests; There is no dispute between the two "families" and they can live in harmony. This kind of ant nest is called mixed ant nest, but it is actually heterogeneous. No matter different ants or ants of the same species, the number of ants in a nest can be very different. The smallest ant colony has only a few dozen or nearly a hundred ants, and some have thousands, while the big ant colony can have tens of thousands or more.
In the broad-leaved forest in the south of China, there is a kind of jumping-tailed ant, whose tail with pliers often tilts up. It likes to build an ant nest the size of a football on a tree with sapropelic juice secreted from its mouth and sapropelic bark chewed from the tree. Ant nests are divided into many grades. There are males, queens and workers. Jumping-tailed ants give birth in their nests and become an "independent kingdom". At first, there was a tree and a bird's nest. When the ant colony is too big and a new queen is born, the new queen leads some worker ants to build new homes. Sometimes for the sake of the field, we often fight. They catch insects on the branches and leaves of the tree crown for food. In order to shorten the walking distance on the tree, they also built an "ant rope bridge" between the trees. In order to connect the two trees for a long time, the worker ants who undertake the task of bridging constantly update the "Ant Cable Bridge". When all the food on the tree is caught, they catch the worms on the ground. Once the prey is caught, the jumping-tailed ants will inject anesthetic solution with claw needles, put the prey into a coma, and then drag them back to their nests in droves. Even a mantis or earthworm weighing more than 0/00 times its own weight/kloc-can easily drag it back to its nest.
The feeding habits of ants vary greatly from species to species. Generally, it can be divided into carnivorous, phytophagous and omnivorous ants. Before the cold comes, ants bring aphids, scale insects, horned cicadas and gray butterfly larvae to their nests, ready to absorb the excrement of these insects as winter food (milk honey); They also carry weed seeds before the cold comes to prepare for sowing in the spring next year.
The creatures formed by interaction with ants have reached an amazing level. There are more than 52 families, 465 species of plants, thousands of animals, and a large number of unknown fungi and microorganisms.
Ants are using extraordinary survival strategies-planting fungi, harvesting seeds, grazing honey-producing insects, nesting, cooperative predation, social parasitism and slavery-which greatly stimulated the curiosity of scientists and the public.
Microscopic photos of ants
The secret that ants can live in every corner of the world is that they live in a very organized group. They build nests together so that their eggs and offspring can grow safely in them.
Ants have different division of labor. The queen is responsible for laying eggs; Worker ants are responsible for building and defending nests, taking care of queens, eggs and larvae, and finding food; Males are responsible for mating with queens. Most eggs will develop into females. They are called worker ants. A small number of them developed into queens and males. The new queen and the male ant mate when they are mature, and the male ant dies after mating. The new queen ant began to lead another new group to start a new life.
In the ant colony, the queen ant is the only ant that can lay eggs and reproduce. It is the mother of all ants in the ant colony. Worker ants feed it, clean its body and take its eggs to another place to take care of it.
Some ant populations in Australia regard their worker ants as a living storage box. When worker ants collect a large amount of nectar and hide it in their bodies to swell up, they hang themselves on the ceiling of their nests until other ants come to eat the nectar stored in their bodies.
The soldiers are foraging in the woodland. In order to find food, they sometimes line up in woodland. They are always hungry and will attack anything, even large mammals.
Harvest ants eat seeds. They collect seeds in the cellar. Leaf-cutting ants eat mushrooms. They take leaves underground to cultivate mushrooms. Another ant stores an insect called an aphid. They extracted a sugary substance from aphids as food, similar to human milking.
According to scientists, ants are short of sugar in caves. Once ants find something sweet, their tentacles will harden on their own, which is a nature of ants.
Ants are very social insects and communicate with each other through pheromones emitted by their bodies. When ants find food, they will spread pheromones on the food, and other ants will instinctively drag things with pheromones back to their holes.
When an ant dies, its pheromone still exists. When other ants pass by, they will be attracted by pheromones, but dead ants will not communicate with each other (touch their tentacles) like live ants, so their bodies with pheromones will be taken back by their companions as food.
Usually, such corpses are not eaten as food, because apart from pheromones, each nest of ants has its own specific smell, and things with the same smell will not be attacked, which is the basis for good cooperation with ants in the same nest.
Internal structure of ants
In the process of marching, ants secrete a pheromone to guide the ants behind them to take the same route. If we cross the ant's marching team with our hands and interfere with the pheromones of ants, ants will lose their sense of direction and crawl around. So let's not disturb them casually.
Ant is a typical social group, which has three elements: individuals can cooperate with each other to take care of their larvae; Have a clear division of labor system; And future generations can take care of the previous generation for a while.
In addition, it should be pointed out that "termites" are not ants, and termites are very different from ants in physiological structure except for their different social life habits.
Biological behavior refers to the adaptive activities that organisms can perceive from the outside. Behaviorism is the study of these activities. Morphology and behavior were first noticed by people, but it was not until the19th century that people obtained the theoretical weapons and experimental means for the study of biological behavior. The theory of evolution has raised the behavior of animals to an adaptive level.
The classification of biological behavior is very confusing. From the perspective of heredity and development, it is generally divided into innate behavior and acquired behavior, namely instinctive behavior and learning behavior. However, this classification method is not commonly used. People generally classify behaviors according to their functions. Unfortunately, this classification method is not strict, and there are a lot of overlapping areas.
Appearance characteristics
ant
283 genera of 2 1 subfamily (using the main classification system of 16 subfamily, compared with the system of 2 1 subfamily, the new system divides several subfamilies from the fierce ants). Generally small, with four colors of black, brown, yellow and red, the body wall is elastic, smooth or slightly hairy. Chewing, the palate is developed. The antenna is knee-shaped, with a long peduncle and 2-3 nodes at the end. The whole antenna is divided into 4- 13 nodes. Abdominal knot. Divided into winged or wingless. The front foot has a large spacing and is comb-shaped. It is a corner cleaner (used to clean tentacles).
The shape of ants is divided into three parts: chest and abdomen, and has six legs. Ant eggs are about 0.5 mm long, irregular oval, milky white and worm-like translucent larvae. Worker ants are small, with a body length of about 2.8 mm and a brown body. Through careful observation, it is easy to find an ant. Both male and female ants are bulky. The abdomen is obese, the head and chest are brown, the first half of the abdomen is brown, and the second half is brown. Male ants are about 5.5 mm long. The female ant is about 6.2 mm in length. The common ant in indoor environment is the yellow ant.
Edit the distribution scope of this paragraph
Ants are the most common insects on the earth and the largest number of insects. Because all kinds of ants are social groups, they were called "ants" in ancient times. According to modern morphological classification, ants belong to bees. Ants can survive anywhere with their living conditions, and they are the most resistant creatures to natural disasters in the world. It is a polymorphic social insect. It is estimated that there are only about half of ants-about 1 1700 kinds of preambles. Wider scope
Ant (9)
The study of ant fauna in Yunnan needs to be carried out. There are more than 600 kinds of ants in China. Ants belong to Arthropoda, Insecta, Hymenoptera and Formicidae. Before China, there were three common ants in the room: Little Yellow Ant, Big Head Ant and Rothschild Ant.
Edit the living habits of this paragraph.
house
Ants generally nest underground, and the scale of underground nests is very large. There are good drainage and ventilation measures. General worker ants are responsible for nesting. The entrance and exit are mostly a small arched mound with a hole in the middle like a volcano. Secondly, there are ventilated holes, and each room in the nest has a clear classification. Warm and moist soil is their favorite. They usually live in arid areas, but it is little known that they can barely survive in water for two weeks.
ant
life
Ants live a long life. Worker ants can live for several weeks or 3-7 years, while queen ants can live for more than ten years or decades or even more than 50 years. An ant nest can grow in 1 place 1 to 10 years.
physical strength
According to the measurement of mechanics, an ant can lift things more than 400 times its own weight, and can also haul objects more than its own weight 1700 times. Mark Morfett, an entomologist at Harvard University in the United States, is a scholar who has a good knowledge of Asian ants. According to his observation, 10 more than one united ant can carry maggots or other food more than 5,000 times its own weight, which is equivalent to 10 carrying 3,500 tons by a big man with an average weight of 70kg.
Things, that is, the average person carries 350 tons. From the perspective of relative strength, ants are well-deserved Hercules. Why can small ants have such divine power? Scientists have done a lot of research and analysis, which proves that ants are a treasure house of micro-animals' nutrition, and each100g of ants can generate 2929 kilojoules (700 kilocalories) of heat. Scientists have found that the leg muscles of ants are an efficient "engine", and this "muscle engine" is composed of billions of tiny "small engines". That's why ants can produce such extraordinary power. The "muscle engine" of ants uses a special "fuel", which is a phosphorus-containing compound with a very complicated structure, called adenosine triphosphate, which is ATP. On many occasions, as long as the muscle produces a little acidic substance in the process of activity (this feeling is what we usually call "arm ache"), it can cause this kind of "fuel" to change dramatically, which can make the long molecules of muscle protein contract in an instant and produce great power. This special "fuel" can directly release hidden energy and convert it into mechanical energy without burning. In addition, there is no mechanical friction, so there is almost no energy loss. Because of this, the efficiency of ant's "muscle engine" is very high, which can be as high as 80% or more. This is the mystery of "Hercules Ant".
Why are ants many times stronger than themselves? Ants are small animals in the animal kingdom, but they have great strength. You will be very surprised if you weigh the ant and the things it carries. The weight it lifts is almost 100 times its own weight. No one in the world has ever been able to lift anything more than three times his own weight. In this sense, ants are much more powerful than people. Where does the strength of this Hercules come from? It seems that this seems to be an interesting mystery. After a lot of experimental research, scientists finally debunked this "mystery". It turns out that the muscle in the ant's paw is a very efficient "prime Mover", which is several times more efficient than the aero-engine, so it can generate considerable power. We know that any engine needs a certain amount of fuel, such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene or other heavy oil. However, the "muscle engine" is provided by a special fuel. This "fuel" does not burn, but it can also release hidden energy and convert it into mechanical energy. Without combustion, there will be no heat loss, and the efficiency will naturally be greatly improved. Chemists already know the composition of this special "fuel", which is a very complex phosphorus compound. In other words, in the claws of ants, there are billions of tiny motors as power. This discovery aroused scientists' strong desire to make an artificial muscle engine. From the development point of view, if powerful and dexterous automation equipment like ant claw is used in technology, it will cause fundamental changes in technology, and then the emergence of elevators, cranes and other machines will be completely new. The cranes we use generally work by motors, but the efficiency of doing work is far from that of ants. Why? Because thermal power generation relies on burning coal to turn water into steam, and steam drives the impeller and drives the generator to generate electricity. In this process, chemical energy is converted into heat energy, heat energy into mechanical energy, and mechanical energy into electrical energy. In these processes, part of the heat energy generated by combustion runs away in vain, and part of it is consumed by overcoming the friction generated by mechanical rotation, so the efficiency of this engine is very low, only 30 ~ 40%. Ant "engine" uses special "fuel" in muscle to directly convert it into electric energy, with little loss, so it has high efficiency. Inspired by the ant "engine", people made a fuel cell, which directly converted chemical energy into electrical energy. This battery uses fuel for redox reaction to generate electricity directly. It has no combustion process, so the efficiency is very high, reaching 70 ~ 90%.
Zhijian road
Ants are social insects, living in groups and having their own homes. Most ants' homes are underground, where they can't easily find rich food. When the weather is sunny and warm, we often see swarms of ants crawling on the ground. If you look carefully, or if you sprinkle some bread crumbs in front of it, you will see that when they reach the food place, they begin to carry the delicious food you prepared for them. If one ant can't move, two, three or more ants will come up and move together. When they get food, they will climb home in an orderly way along their own route and drag the food back to the storage room for a full meal later. This is the role of pheromones.
Edit the culture method in this section.
Dark method
Principle-Take advantage of the characteristics that ants like to hide and live in the dark. First, connect the original nest with the target nest to keep the target nest dark and the original nest bright. After a certain period of time, they will move their families to the lair of the dark target.
Method-First create a suitable living condition for the ants in the target nest, then connect it with the original nest by pipes or other means, then cover the target nest with books or cloth, and then you can disturb the ants in the original nest in a certain way, so that they can find the target nest faster and move out of the original nest, of course, without disturbing. They can move there in about 1~24 hours, even the eggs will move there. Different varieties move at different speeds under different conditions. After moving, you can move the original nest in time.
Tips and attention-this method is the simplest and most convenient, and it is also commonly used. It is suitable for most ant species, especially small ant colony with many eggs. This method is the most suitable.
temperature differential method
Principle-Use extreme temperature conditions to force ants to move. First, connect the original nest with the target nest. The target nest keeps the temperature conditions that ants like, and the original nest keeps low temperature or high temperature. After a certain period of time, they will move their families to a comfortable target nest.
Methods-First, create conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.). It is suitable for ants to live in the target nest, and then the original nest is cooled (by using ice cubes or putting it in the refrigerator, etc.). ) or high temperature (with hot water bottles, etc. ), and by creating these temperature conditions that they don't like, let them move to the target nest with suitable temperature conditions within a certain period of time. After moving, you can move the original nest in time. You're finished.
Tips and precautions-This method is easy for ants to move completely, and it is suitable for all ants regardless of the size of the community. It is also easy for them to move all their eggs, but the operation is a bit troublesome.
Drying method
Principle-Use extreme humidity conditions to force ants to move. First of all, the original nest and the target nest are connected with each other, and the target nest keeps the humidity conditions that ants like, while the original nest keeps dry without adding water and will move to the target nest in a certain period of time.
Methods-First, create conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.). ) suitable for ants to live in, and then let the original nest slowly and naturally dry without adding water, or take a certain way to accelerate drying. Ants can't stand being dry, so they will move to a more comfortable new home.
Tips and precautions-this method is suitable for ants who are not in a hurry to act immediately. A major drawback is that it takes a long time. But it is suitable for most ants, and the operation is very simple.
freezing method
Principle-Let ants temporarily lose their mobility and move manually through low humidity freezing measures.
Methods-First, create conditions (temperature, humidity, etc. ) suitable for ants to live in, and then open and prepare. Then, put the original nests in the refrigerator for a few minutes, and the temperature should not be too low, so that they are basically motionless for several degrees. Then, quickly open the nest, transfer the frozen ants to the target nest, clamp them with tweezers or catch them directly. If there are eggs, you can dial them with a brush, then cover the target nest to let the sleepy ants wake up slowly.
Tips and precautions-this method is suitable for ants with small populations and large bodies, and it is a bit troublesome to operate, especially if there are many eggs.
Violent law
Principle-Catch ants directly by hand and put them in the target nest.
Method-First, pour the ants in the original nest into a relatively open container. Of course, this container should be taken to prevent escape (usually put some powder on it), and then grab it directly by hand and put it into the target nest. Of course, if you are afraid, you'd better wear gloves (disposable rubber gloves are also acceptable) and catch them one by one until you catch them.
Tips and precautions-This method is suitable for small and large ants in the community. The operation is very simple and one of the most commonly used methods.
Edit this artificial breeding technique
Ants are arthropods and social insects. As medicinal ants, only rhubarb ants are found, which are a few species, such as Polyrhachis vicina, Polyrhachis vicina and so on. Only the artificial reproduction of Polyrhachis vicina was successful. Because of its strong adaptability, short cycle and rapid propagation, it can be used for high-density box-type stereoscopic culture, which has the advantages of saving expenses and reducing costs compared with rockery and cylindrical culture methods.