They are here long before we were. More precisely, 130 million years ago, since the Cretaceous period, according to a study by Harvard University. Being one of the most famous insects in the world, ants live in colonies in a completely organized system where each has a specific function.
How is everything saved? Through continuous work. Whether it is day or night, about 40% of ants are active. Even those who are clearly at ease can go to work if the need arises. However, at least 20% of them are useless and ended up being called “lazy ants”.
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The sect, the queen and her subjects
In the underground ant world, the ant population is divided into classes, organized around a queen. She spends her life producing eggs that give rise to her subjects.
But the most numerous class are the worker ants, which protect the colony and are responsible for taking care of the queen’s food and eggs.
On this day back and forth, there are still winged males and females, who mate to make new members of the group. What will determine whether the ant becomes a worker or a winged female is how much food it gets while it is still in its larval stage.
stomach fungus
Whoever thinks that ants feed on leaves, grains, sugar or parts of other insects is deeply mistaken.
What they do is simply take all of this to the anthill where you will grow the fungi, which will become food for the ants.
But there are species that feed on plant sap and also omnivores that eat animals alive or dead.
After all, there are about 1 million species of ants in the world, of which 18,000 are known and more than 2,000 are cataloged in Brazil.
And most interestingly, they have two stomachs. One is for their own consumption and the other is for feeding those who remain in the nest taking care of other functions.
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inside the body structure
As is known, ants are very resistant and can carry up to 50 times more than their own weight.
On the head there are two antennas, the lower jaw and the eyes. Antennae are responsible for ants’ senses: touch, smell, and taste.
The jaw is used to crush food, defend itself, and dig tunnels. They also have compound eyes, each of which is made up of infinitely small structures.
Although they do not have ears, ants are not deaf. They hear through special sensors in their paws that pick up on ground vibrations. Below the head are the thorax and locomotor limbs, as well as wings (some of them decrease) and three pairs of legs.
Sociability is a genetic basis
According to researcher Laurent Keller, from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, the social life of ants that always unite and work in groups is a reflection of the genetic basis, that is, they were born programmed to help each other.
They live many years compared to other insects precisely because they live in society, in societies, where they help each other. They are cooperative, protect themselves and can even manufacture medicines, according to the specialist.
There are types of ants that live from 10 to 15 years, and there is a queen that is 28 years old. The worker lives from one to two years, which is a long time for an insect.
mutinies
According to Laurent Keeler, there are internal rebellions in colonies and even wars between ants, especially when they are fighting in the same space, which is also explained by the genetic basis.
In a colony, there can be between 2 million and 20 million ants. And these insects are necessary to avoid environmental chaos, because they help in pollination, defend certain plant species against animals, and to disperse plant seeds, that is, without ants, nature can collapse.
And before you step on any of them, know that they will survive humans and that they are an example of resistance and even show a certain immortality in terms of preserving species on the planet, having already overcome disasters and glaciers, always adapting under the protection of the mechanism. The evolution present in their structures as well in social life.
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