Ants live in very well organized colonies where each individual has a specific function. To keep everything in order, they work incessantly. “At any given moment of the day or night, around 30% to 40% of the ants are active. The rest remain in apparent rest, but, if necessary, immediately take action”, says biologist Odair Correa Bueno, from the Center for the Study of Social Insects at the São Paulo State University (Unesp), in Rio Claro (SP). Among the known species, the ants (genus Atta) and the quequens (genus Acromyrmex) form the most evolved societies. The population of their anthills is divided into castes, organized around a queen, who spends her life laying eggs that will give rise to her “subjects”.
The most numerous caste is formed by the worker ants, which protect the colony and take care of the queen’s food and eggs. The winged females and the males are also part of this microsociety, a pair whose function is to mate and generate new individuals for the group. What determines whether an ant will be a worker or a winged female is the amount of food it receives while still in the larval stage. “The workers receive normal food and the winged females, superfood”, says Odair. Super can also be the size of a colony. Last year, European scientists discovered a giant anthill, about 6,000 kilometers long, stretching from Portugal to Italy. The researchers estimate that it is inhabited by billions of individuals of the Linepithema humile species, originally from Argentina and introduced to the European continent 80 years ago.
dive into it
At the bookshop:
Ants: Social Organization and Behavioral Biology, Elena Diehl-Fleig, University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos, 1995
Ants in Action, Deborah Gordon, Jorge Zahar Editores, 2002
On the Internet:
https://roedores.hypermart.net/terra/inseto/formiga.htm
https://www.sitioduascachoeiras.com.br/reinos/animal/formigas.html
READ MORE
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Underground city In a colony of ants, each individual has a specific function
intricate labyrinth
The ants, like most species, build underground nests by burrowing into the earth. Anthills are formed by numerous chambers interconnected by galleries and tunnels. The chambers, also called pans, are used as a nursery, pantry to store food, garbage disposal and resting place for worker ants.
working class 2
The generalist workers, measuring about 1.5 millimeters, take care of the queen’s eggs and clean the nest. The last large group of worker ants is formed by the garden ants, which are the smallest of all (about 1 millimeter) and have the task of taking care of the so-called fungus gardens. Therefore, they remain almost all the time inside the anthill.
disposable males
The bitus, the male ants, are the fruit of unfertilized eggs, unlike the females, which originate from the fertilized ones. They measure approximately 3 millimeters and live only to mate with future queens. After the copulation flight with the winged females, which occurs between September and December, the males are no longer accepted in the nest and end up dying.
power in check
Depending on the species, the anthill may have one or more queens, which in sauveiros are called tanajura. She is the mother of all ants and apparently commands her “subjects” by releasing hormones that guide tasks. When she dies, the anthill usually falls apart. Some researchers, however, have defended the thesis that the colony can function very well without the queen, who would not be so important.
working class 1
The worker ants, the most numerous caste in the anthill, are sterile and have no wings. They are divided into four large groups. The excavators are around 2 millimeters and are responsible for bringing pieces of leaves to the colony. The soldier workers measure about 3 millimeters and defend the colony from other insects or rival ants.
candidates for the throne
The candidates for future queens are the winged females, which are the same size as the anthills’ bigwigs (about 5 millimeters). Each of them copulates with several bitus, but only 0.05% manage to maintain a nest until reaching maturity to produce new offspring. It’s just that females are very vulnerable to predators at the time of the mating flight and during the excavation of the new nest
succulent garden
Contrary to what it seems, ants do not feed on the pieces of leaves that they live carrying from one place to another. The crushed leaves only serve as raw material for the proliferation of fungi, which are the ants’ main food. Therefore, the so-called fungus gardens are essential for the survival of the colony.