Amazing Ants!!!

Ants are common insects with unique capacities. Ants belong to the insect family. Their size varies from 0.75 to 52 mm. They vary in their color. Their colors include red, blue, and green, with metallic luster.  About 22,000 species of ants are classified. Ants belong to the family Formicidae.

They live in colonies. They are social insects. The ant community is headed by Queen Ant. The main function of Queen Ant is to lay thousands of eggs. In a colony there may be one or two queen ants. 

There are worker ants, which are wingless females. They are sterile ants. They do not reproduce. They search food and bring food for the queen’s offspring. They work on the nest, protect the community and perform many other duties.

In the colony, there are male ants. The male ants are fertile ants. They are called drones. They have only one specific role of mating with the queen. After they perform that duty, they die. All the ants work in unity for their survival.

The life span of ants varies from several weeks to thousand years.  They are strong as they can lift load ten times their weight. Their size is equal to the size of a paper clip. They are found everywhere in this world in all the ecosystems except Antarctica.

The ant’s body is divided into three parts. They are head, thorax and abdomen. Their body is covered with a strong exoskeleton called chitin. Ants have two kinds of eyes: the compound, lateral eyes, two in number and placed on the sides of the head. They also have simple eyes, three in number on the vertex. Both kinds are best developed in the males, less in the females and least in the workers. The main function of the eyes is to detect light and shadow.

The compound eyes are made from numerous tiny lenses attached together. They are good for detecting movements. But they do not form high resolution images. The three simple eyes present in ants detect light levels and polarization.

Six legs are attached to the thorax. Each leg has three joints. The legs of the ant are very strong so that they can run very quickly. The six legs terminate in a hooked claw.

Abdomen contains ant’s vital organs and reproductory parts. The stomach is located in the abdomen with most of the other large organs. The abdomen of the ant contains two stomachs. The ant stores food for itself in one stomach while the second stomach holds food which is shared with other ants. 

Instead of lungs, the ants have small openings called spiracles in their exoskeletons that circulates oxygen through the body. The spiracles are tiny holes present in their body.  This means that the ants do not draw breaths, but rather let the surrounding oxygen pass through them.

Ants do not have a heart like we do, or other mammals. Their heart is one big artery or a long tube starting from the brain, the artery works through the body parts. Their blood is not red either. The color of the blood is pale yellow when it doesn't carry oxygen. Their blood contains hemocyanin, a copper-based protein that turns blue in color when oxygenated. Their heart artery goes through their body parts.

The ants have nerve fibres flowing through the brain and muscles. They are the means of communication between the brain, organs and muscles. Their nervous system is a long nerve cord. An ant brain has about 250,000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human being.

Ants feed on variety of different foods to be healthy. They are omnivores. But ants are attracted sugar because sugar is a dense source of energy that is relatively rare in nature. Ants need a lot of energy that sugar has because they keep on moving without rest.

There are a pair of strong jaws in the head region. They are called mandibles. The mandibles carry food, manipulate objects, construct nests, and for defense. The powerful mandibles are useful in grasping, carrying, cutting, and biting the food. The jaws open and shut sideways like a pair of scissors. Adult ants cannot chew or swallow solid food. Instead they swallow the juice which they squeeze from pieces of food. They throw away the dry part that is left over.

A pair of antennae is located at the head region of the ant. These organs detect chemicals, air currents, and vibrations. They also transmit and receive signals through touch. Antennae are used for not only to touch, but also for their sense of smell.

Ants recognize and identify their nest mates with the help of Antennae. When they find food they emit pheromones so that their nest mates can follow the food. Ants also have maxillary pulps to detect scents.

Ant’s antennae are like human ears, designed for receiving and sending messages or impulses or signals. The function of antennae is to help ants deliver key information about who they are and where they are from to their peers.

We cannot distinguish one ant from the other. But ants are capable of recognizing their friends. They do not have ears but they can smell other ants with the help of their antennae. They can smell with their antennae on their heads. Because each colony has a different smell from the other, even though they belong to the same species, they can recognize their companions and enemies. In other words, if their antennae do not work properly, they may live with their enemies.

Scientists have found that ant’s antennae are the main sensory organs and they are two way communication devices. They analyzed the coating of cuticular hydrocarbon all over the body of ants.  This coating protects the insects from dehydration and helps in communication. They use this chemical to identify their friend or foe.

The scientists from University's School of Bio sciences removed the coating of cuticular hydrocarbons from the antennae of the ants of one nest. Their nest mates were not able to recognise and identify their colony identity. That means that CHCs on the antennae provide information about which nest they come from and they send out information.

Researchers also have found out that the CHC profiles are different depending on where on the body they are. They have to further find out about these chemical signals whether they will be useful for mankind. 

When ants move in a fixed line, they touch the other ants moving in the opposite direction with the help of their antennae. This is how ants interact in their community. When they stroke their antennae they will come to know about their identity, and get information about food availability.

Ants show another interesting behavior called   trophallaxis, which is more like kissing, but what happens is that the ants exchange food which is mostly regurgitated liquid. This way ants can feed other ants like queens, very young ants, and the sick worker ants that never come outside their nest.

We have also seen that ants walk one behind the other. When they move in a line, they secret a chemical called pheromone, which is smelling. Other ants follow the chemical signal. So the ants appear to be going in a line. 

Scientists have successfully designed miniature robot ants.    These robots consist of sensors, infrared emitters, and communication systems capable of detecting objects in their paths. Ant robots are swarm robots that can communicate via markings, similar to ants that lay and follow pheromone trails. These giant robotic ants will one day replace factory workers.