Reader Question – Agatha Veroneze,
Posto da Mata, BA
With several chambers with specific functions and tunnels that connect them. The arrangement of these sites depends on several factors, such as the species of ant (there are over 10,000!), its diet, where the nest is built and the number of inhabitants. In general, the more space available, the more chambers and tunnels (those of urban ants, for example, have only one room). The anthills usually appear in humid and hot seasons (like the months of August and September in Brazil), when mating takes place and the queens look for a place to lay their eggs. The colony lives up to 15 years, which is the life expectancy of its leader. But this period can be shortened due to the attack of predators, such as birds, frogs and anteaters.
underground kingdom
With special rooms for babies, food and garbage, anthills can have millions of individuals
SURVEILLANCE TOWER
The size of the burrow depends on the number of inhabitants. Species of the genus Acromyrmex number up to 175,000, and sauveiros up to 7 million. In addition to the underground part, some nests can also reach 1.5 m in height on the surface. The theory is that this bulge serves to prevent the entry of water
HEADQUARTERS
Some of the workers are born to be soldiers, with larger sizes and jaws as sharp as pincers. In large anthills, they stand guard in a special room at the end of the nest. From there, they can sniff out predators or foreign ants and fight them off. Bigheads, they can also block entrances with their cuckoo
ROYAL APARTMENT
The Queen’s room is the first «room» to be built and the only one made by her. Here, the sovereign spends practically her entire life laying her eggs. The first litter is still cared for by the mother. During period, her body degrades her wing muscles, which become unnecessary after mating.
FUNGI GARDEN
The diet of the species influences the design of the anthill. For example, ants feed on fungi that grow on collected vegetables and need a room to grow them. Ants of the Tapinoma genus, on the other hand, live on sugar and do not need the room: instead, they store the carbohydrate in the body of some workers
NATURAL LANDFILL
In general, the lowest part of the anthill has a chamber that works as a kind of garbage dump. The workers bring here all the leftovers: remains of fungi, leaves, feces of captured insects and also dead ants. The garbage is here decomposing and never mixes with the rest of the colony
WORKER’S NURSERY
When there is room, the anthill has a hatching chamber. From the second clutch, this is where the workers bring the eggs. Treated by them, they become pupae in up to four weeks, depending on the species. The pupae do not eat or move, they just wait: in three weeks they will be adult and ready to work.
MAZE OF SPIT
Responsible for the tunnels and chambers, the workers raise the anthill by hardening its walls with their saliva. If the hassle wasn’t enough, some nests also have false tunnels that lead nowhere. The objective is to gain time in case of an attack, making the rival colony get lost in the trap.
Depth varies between species. The genus Cyphomyrmex has nests measuring between 3 and 5 cm. The ants reach 20 m below the surface
There are also colonies in hollow parts of trees, a common practice among species that feed on seeds.
Ants that do not build specific chambers deposit excess outside the nest
social hierarchy
Group members divide into castes with defined roles
QUEENS
Larger and winged, they give rise to the nest and are the only breeders
MALE
They are born from unfertilized eggs and serve only for mating
GENERALIST WORKERS
Take care of the eggs, the queen and the nest
PLANTS
Take care of the fungus garden
EXCAVATORS
Responsible for bringing food into the nest
SOLDIERS
They are distinguished by their large head and defend the colony
Insect infiltrates have learned to live in cities
Are there ants around the house? It’s normal: animals have adapted to the urban environment. Cracks, gaps between the plaster and the tile and even electronic devices can be infested with them, which only come out from time to time to look for food. And, yes, populations also number in the millions
Consultancy Ana Eugênia de Carvalho, biologist at the Biological Institute of São Paulo, Emília Zoppa, researcher at the Museum of Zoology at the University of São Paulo (USP) and Terezinha Della Lucia, professor at the Department of Animal Biology at the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV)
Read too:
– How is life inside an anthill?
– How high can an ant fall without getting hurt?