The Ants Go Marching...In Almost Every Environment!
Ants are a type of insect.
There are about 20,000 different species of
ants. Ants can be found in every environment except
where the ground is permanently frozen. Ants live in special groups called colonies in
which all members work together.
An Insect with a History
A worker ant is born to do one job its entire life. This leafcutter worker
uses its powerful mandibles to cut leaf pieces for the colony.
©M.Moffett/GLOBIO.org Ants have been on Earth for millions of years.
A fossil of an ant 92 million years old was found in New Jersey in the United
States. The fossil shows that ants were around when the dinosaurs roamed Earth!
Where Ants Fit In
Ants are small, but they play a critical
role in the health of the environments in which they live. For example, they pollinate flowers
while searching for sweet nectar and pollen.
A few species of ants even “milk” a sweet liquid from other insects.
They Really Clean Up
Ants have been called the janitors of the world because they do a lot of clean-up
jobs! With their strong jaw-like mandibles,
ants can cut up just about anything and haul it back to their colony. They
can make a meal out of dead leaves or dead insects. They even cart away small birds and mammals after
they die. The remains of a dead African zebra - after lions have finished feeding
on it - will feed thousands of ants.
A Short but Busy Life
Worker weaver ants act together to care for the larvae and pupae of their
colony.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Each ant passes through four distinct life
stages: egg, larva, pupa,
and adult. Ants grow up in just a few days. Ants live a very busy, but short,
life. The average ant lives 45-60 days.
Amazing Ant Anatomy
Ants have three main body parts: the head,
the thorax (middle
section), and the abdomen (rear
section). The outside of an ant’s body is covered with a hard armor,
which is called the exoskeleton.
Click on the photo below to discover how an ant’s body works.
Ant Colonies
Groups of ants live in a social group called
a colony. Some colonies are extremely large, with millions of individual ants.
Ants spend most of their lives inside the colony.
The Queen and Her Crew
After dropping her wings, a new queen begins to dig a nest and start a new
ant colony.
©C.Ziegler/GLOBIO.org Colonies are home to three different kinds of ant family members. Each colony
has a queen. A queen is a large female ant who spends her life laying eggs.
There also are a few males with wings called drones. There are thousands of
workers, all of whom are female. Workers are very busy and active. Usually,
worker ants are the only kind of ant you’ll see outside the colony.
One Colony, Many Jobs
There are many different kinds of workers in each colony. These different
worker types are divided into castes.
Castes differ from each other in the way they look and the jobs they do. For
example, worker ants from different castes have different head sizes. They
also have different kinds of mandibles that are adapted to perform a specific
job that supports the colony. Some of the jobs include gathering food, defending
the colony, and taking care of the eggs, larvae, and pupae.
Food Fit for an Ant
Ants eat different things, depending on the
stage of their life and their role in the colony. Small larvae, for example,
are fed a mushy liquid food by older worker ants. Full-grown workers may feed
directly on the food they find outside the colony. They also bring food back
to the colony. Smaller ants chop up the food and process it into a liquid for
others to eat.
Some workers do not eat after they become adults. Their mandibles are only
designed for other duties, not for eating. The queen gets the royal treatment.
Workers feed her a special liquid from their mouths.
Ant Species
Ants at a Glance
Next time you see some ants, take a moment
to watch them work. See if you can identify some of these species.
Leafcutter
ants are amazing in the way they cut leaves, build compost piles,
and farm their own food. They are found in the tropical forests of Central
and South America.
Harvester
ants live in temperate North America. Most of the species are found west
of the Mississippi River in the United States. The two most common species
are the Texas harvester ant and the Western (red) harvester ant.
Army
ants are active and aggressive.
They move their colonies regularly in search of prey. They are found in the
tropical forests of Central and South America.
Weaver
ants are reddish insects found in the tropical forests of Africa and
India and south to Australia and the Solomon Islands.
Ants and People
Ants and people have an unusual relationship.
Interestingly, we have many traits in common with ants. We both work hard,
live in colonies or communities for the good of all, and play a strong role
in shaping our environment. In some places, people eat ants. Ants serve as
an important source of protein for
them.
Ants Keep the Soil Healthy
The worker members of an ant colony are divided into castes. Each caste
has a special job and the mandibles to go with it. Notice the difference
in mandible size between the different castes of workers shown here.
©G.Ellis/GLOBIO.org Some people find ants bothersome, because they sometimes raid gardens or invade
people’s homes. But ants are critical to the health of the environment.
They recycle huge
amounts of nutrients each
day by cutting up leaves and twigs and moving soil. In fact, ants move more
soil than worms!