How ants raise babies from eggs. Features of the creation and life of an ant family

Immediately after birth, future ants fall into a special ant nursery. Let's take a closer look at one of the most mysterious wonders of nature. After a couple of weeks, the ant larvae are carried to the nursery:

After the uterus has laid eggs, they are in special so-called "packages". In these bundles, adult ants carry eggs from one place to another.

As soon as the eggs begin to show signs of life and transform into larvae, they are immediately taken to the nursery, where they are waiting for further maturation. Until the eggs become larvae, the ants keep them in limbo.

Ants constantly care for the larvae, turning them over and observing their condition.

To deal with “young growth” is the business of worker ants.

However, everyone is involved.

Even soldier ants visit the nursery from time to time.

Ants clean the larvae and feed. The main food of reaper ants are grains. Strong soldiers crush whole seeds, breaking them into smaller pieces.

After that, the workers grind the pieces into flour.

Wetting the flour with their saliva, the worker ants prepare a puree that serves as food for both the larvae and the workers themselves.

Sometimes ants lay special food eggs, which they give to the larvae. This happens infrequently.

An ant with an egg hurries to a hungry larva. Here is the feeding process.

It also happens that it is not the future ant that hatches from the egg, but, as it is commonly called, the fodder larva. Such larvae are larger than usual and are nothing more than a large chunk of nutrients. This larva will serve as food for the entire colony.

Difference in size between common and feed larvae.

When the larva matures and the process of turning into a chrysalis begins, the workers take it to the kindergarten.

Video showing the whole process of caring for pupae and larvae.

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The ant is a highly organized insect that leads an active social life, which allows the colony to grow to a huge scale in a short period of time. The stages of development of an ant are somewhat different from other insects, which makes this family unique and unusual. Due to its unusual appearance and anatomical structure, the ant is able to lift several times its own weight, and the insect is also able to lead an active social life due to the release of certain chemicals. There are several features and nuances of the life of an ant that should be considered.

Ants in nature build anthills, often they reach colossal sizes, although they can be completely hidden from view, because they are located underground. In such structures there are a large number of passages and rooms for various purposes. Domestic ants do not create an anthill, but a nest, for example, under the plinth and in the space between the walls. When creating such a house, insects are able to crawl into even the smallest gap, and powerful jaws process any surface.

Ants reproduce quite quickly and grow into huge colonies.

These features and capabilities are due to the structure of this insect, because its anatomy has allowed for thousands of years to survive in the most extreme conditions of the globe. In a colony, each individual has its own purpose, the most numerous species are workers, there are the largest number of them in the anthill, because they have a very important goal - food production and construction. Winged females and males once a year try to create one new anthill to spread their species.

In the process of research, it was possible to establish that the external structure of the ant is quite complex, especially for the brain. There are a large number of varieties of these insects, however, they all have a very similar structure. Plus, workers are always without wings, but males and females are winged. The most common are garden and forest ants. It is possible to consider the structural features of an individual precisely on the example of a working insect, since there are the most workers.

The body of an ant is covered with a strong outer chitinous shell. It can be seen that the body is precisely divided into three characteristic parts - the head, the middle part and the abdomen. The first can have a different structure, which largely depends on the type of insect. There are eyes on the head, they consist of many lenses, but the ant is not able to recognize objects, the eyes only record movement. Additionally, each individual has additional eyes, this is a kind of indicator of illumination.

Not everyone knows how these insects communicate; due to the centuries-old development of the ant, he managed to reach a new communicative level. There are characteristic antennae on the head, they are able to recognize smells, vibrations, air currents, and communication is also realized through touch. Some species have a sting at the end of the body, it is used for protection or hunting. The ant has only six limbs, each of them consists of three elements. At the ends there are characteristic claws-captures, with their help the insect can easily move along vertical surfaces.

Diagram of the developmental stage of ants

For every ant of any species, the first stage of development is the egg. After laying eggs by the queen, they are not kept individually, but in special groups. At the end of incubation, larvae appear from the eggs; visually, they resemble small worms. However, at this stage, the individual continuously feeds throughout the entire time, therefore, it rapidly increases in size. The larvae, like the eggs, are also kept in small groups, so they are easier to watch. Larger individuals in some groups, and smaller ones in others.

One of the stages of ant development is the chrysalis; after the end of this period, an adult individual already appears. A weakened insect cannot break through the walls and leave the cocoon on its own, so “colleagues in the shop”, that is, relatives, come to the rescue. For some time, the newborn ant is white, but over time it acquires its usual color, and this takes only a couple of days. The ant does not grow any more from now on. The full development cycle from an adult to an ant takes about a month.

How long do ants live

Almost all varieties have the same stages of ant development, while the scheme looks familiar. Some individuals differ in the length of their lives, in many respects this determines the duration of the existence of one anthill and the likelihood of its further development. One of the main criteria is precisely the duration of existence, consider this indicator on the example of the pharaohs. Studies have shown that the more benefits an ant brings, the longer its lifespan, but if it has a one-time role, then there is no point in its existence after the mission is completed. Consider the life expectancy indicators for each member of the colony in more detail:

1. Uterus. This individual is the most important in the anthill, without it, nothing would have been and will not be. For this reason, even some animals can envy her life expectancy, since in the wild this figure is 15-17 years, and in captivity, some representatives lived up to 20 years, which may not impress.
2. Workers. They represent the main labor force, these individuals supply food to the colony, clean it from dirt, and if necessary, they protect the weaker inhabitants. On average, their life expectancy is 3-5 years, and in the laboratory this figure increases to 6-7 years. Such a serious difference between the laboratory and natural conditions is due to the fact that the latter environment has a large number of enemies and negative environmental conditions.
3. Males. As a joke, experts can call these individuals inseminators, and this is the absolute truth. They have one single purpose - the fertilization of the uterus. Males do not work at all, do not look for food, but do not harm either. Such an ant performs its function several times during its life, and then dies. H all the life of this "lucky" leave 14-21 days. Even under laboratory conditions, the lifespan remains at this mark, because if the individual does not die a natural death, then workers kill it.

If, for any reason, the death of the uterus occurs, then there will be no reason for everyone else to exist. Some of the individuals will go looking for a better life, while the rest will die from blues and hunger.

That is why, when fighting ants, it is much more important to destroy the uterus than the eggs, in which case the insects will certainly leave the house in the near future.

Ants are highly organized and social insects, which in the process of their development have reached an excellent level, which is manifested not only in their relationship with relatives, but also in the external structure and characteristic stages of development. There are many varieties of ants, but all of them are united by the presence of common features and aspects. When you consider some of them, you involuntarily wonder how amazing these insects are. The stages of development of ants are realized according to a pattern characteristic of all species.

Reproduction is an important stage in the life of any living being. And for such numerous colonies as those of ants, the replenishment of the family is a paramount task for the maintenance and development of the anthill. Observations of how ants breed prove the uniqueness of this insect species.

reproduction

It is a known fact that all members of the colony are working females, unable to reproduce. And only one or a few queens produce this offspring. Fertilized eggs produce females, while unfertilized eggs produce males. The latter have a prejudiced position in the ant community and often become a victim of their fellow tribesmen. Why there is bewilderment of how ants mate.

Once a year, newly winged males and females are allowed to perform a love dance. It is during a short flight that mating of ants occurs. Immediately after this process, the male is killed by the tribesmen, and the female leaves the anthill to establish her colony.

At the fourth fastest stage of development, the ant emerges from the pupa in the form of an adult. He is helped to hatch from the cocoon by other insects that bite off the upper part of the formed shell. When adults hatch, they look like adults, but are light in color and have soft body parts. After a few hours, the ant acquires a color and a chitinous shell like that of an adult tribesman.

Choice of profession

Reproduction of ants depends not only on the uterus, but also on the coherence of the actions of all members of the colony. Any failure at least at one of the stages of insect development can lead to the death of all offspring. Therefore, after the ants appear, they must choose a specific role for themselves and immediately begin direct participation in the life of the anthill. In order to have the right to live under a common roof with a colony, a newly minted individual is offered a choice of one of the professions:

• babysitter to care for eggs and larvae;
• builder;
• security guard;
• food provider;
• transporter;
• aphid herder;
• scout;
• warrior and others.

Due to the fact that the queens multiply rapidly, the anthill is constantly provided with new members of the colony and can continuously develop. This approach, under favorable conditions, allows colonies to grow to enormous sizes and reach numbers of several million individuals.

In nature, there are more than 110 species of reaper ants, of which 5 species also live in Russia. This is the most popular species for breeding in domestic anthills - formicaria. Let's find out how reapers live in nature and how to care for them in a human dwelling.

The appearance of reaper ants and their habitat

The body of insects consists of three parts - this is the head, chest and abdomen. They are interconnected by movable bridges, which makes the reapers very flexible. There are three pairs of limbs on the chest. The large head has powerful jaws - mandibles, which are convenient for carrying food and grinding seeds and grains. The color of the ants is dark, reddish-brown. Their length is considered one of the largest among other families of ants: worker ants have a length of 4 to 9 mm, while the queen reaches a truly huge size - from 11 to 15 mm. The steppe ant reaper differs from other representatives of the ant family in its characteristic reddish-orange color.

Reaper ants live in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Asia, North and South Africa and America.

How the anthill is organized

Up to 5 thousand individuals can live in an anthill

There is a strict hierarchy in the reaper ant colony: each member of the family is busy with his own business. The family consists of a uterus - it produces offspring, a soldier - they protect the anthill from dangers and help with harvesting, worker ants - they are engaged in the extraction of food and care for the young. There are also males and females - they mate with each other, creating new colonies.

Outside, the anthill is shaped like a volcano

The ground part of the ants' dwelling is a hole in the soil, along the edges of which there is a shaft of earth and debris from the brought prey. The underground part has a vertical tunnel, from which passages with cameras depart on the sides. In these rooms, ants equip pantries for storing food and "children's rooms" in which larvae are stored.

What do reaper ants eat

Particular attention should be paid to feeding and foraging by reapers. Since they most often feed on cereals, it has long been believed that ants are agricultural pests. However, studies have shown that insects only harvest crops that have fallen directly to the ground.

Stocks

It is very interesting for the reapers to collect provisions. As mentioned earlier, the harvest of grain occurs when it is on the ground.

The labor force harvests about 1.5 kg of grain crops from the fields in one season

Scientists have found that harvester ants send out workers as much as there is available food. If there is a lot of it, then the workers return faster and the number of ants sent for food increases. But if they return slowly, then the number of sent ants decreases or stops altogether.

Hard-working reapers set up special rooms deep underground to store grain. In humid warm rooms, the seeds begin to germinate, and as soon as the first sprouts and roots appear, the ants immediately destroy the shoots. After that, large soldier ants grind the grain into powder with their powerful jaws and, wetting it with saliva, feed the larvae with this mixture.

Reproduction and lifespan of harvester ants

There is one queen in each nest of ants. Mating takes place in early spring in April, as reapers settle in the steppes with a warm climate. After fertilization of the uterus, the male dies, and the female goes to look for a suitable place to establish a new colony. A full-fledged workforce appears by the end of summer.

The development cycle of ants is complete: egg - larva - pupa - adult

The first three stages pass in 2-3 weeks each. Reapers reproduce in two ways - sexually and asexually. At the first, males and females are born, which are needed for further reproduction. Asexual reproduction is called parthenogenesis, that is, the female germ cell develops into an adult organism without fertilization by a male. With such reproduction, only worker ants are born.

Larval development

After fertilization, after some time, the uterus lays eggs. After that, they are moved to separate cells and monitored for favorable conditions. The division into worker castes occurs already at the time of hatching from the eggs of the larvae. Which caste the future individual will belong to depends on how much food the larva consumes.
The well-being of future worker ants is provided by breadwinners and nurses

The young generation is constantly growing, pupating in 1–2 months. The pupa has a thin shell, which allows you to monitor the development of the insect. At the last stage, a full-fledged ant appears, which lives from one to five years.

Reaper Ant Stings

Reapers are known to be peaceful insects, and for no apparent reason do not attack first. But if an external irritant appears or the anthill is in danger, the ants immediately rush to the attack. The bite causes a burning sensation, and the bite site swells up badly. Sometimes allergic reactions of the body to the poison of the reapers are possible.

Video: reaper ant bite

Harm from ants

Ants bring benefits to nature by spreading the seeds of various plants. But if the reapers are found in the immediate vicinity of the grain warehouses, then they can cause damage to the future harvest. They are unlikely to steal all the grain at once, but once spotting a hot spot, they will raid with enviable constancy.

How to keep harvester ants at home

Now many people start so-called ant farms as a hobby, which are transparent boxes made of plastic or glass. Inside them is an imitation of an anthill - numerous passages and chambers.
Thanks to the transparency of the walls, you can study the life of insects in detail

Acquisition of an anthill - what anthills are, their cost

A home anthill, or formicarium, looks like an aquarium or a showcase, inside of which there is a filler. There are simple and complex systems in which a climate favorable for the life and reproduction of ants is automatically created and maintained: lighting, humidity and temperature. The sizes are different - from small desktop farms to bulky anthills for the living room or office. The filler for formicaria is used differently: gel, gypsum or a mixture of soil and sand.

The so-called "Cubus" and "Coliseum" models are in the form of a cylinder, cube or double-walled display. The space between them is filled with multi-colored sand, in which the ant colony builds passages and chambers. The cost of such structures is high - from 3 thousand rubles, but the kits include food for ants, sand and other additions.
Formicarium brand "Coliseum"

A gel-filled anthill is similar to an aquarium, but filled not with water, but with a transparent gel. Such a house for reapers does not require careful maintenance, but every 5-7 days the lid of the aquarium should be opened for a couple of minutes to ventilate. The price of such formicariums is low - from 500 rubles.
This filler is safe for people and insects - it is both a habitat and a breeding ground for ants.

A gypsum farm is affordable in price (from 700 rubles). This is the most popular type of domestic anthills. The surface of the plaster is often painted in bright colors, which makes the formicarium a stylish and unusual addition to any interior.
The plaster model is perfect for children and beginners in breeding ants.

Ant houses can be purchased at specialized online stores. The catalogs have trusses of various models and sizes. Pet stores, as a rule, do not sell ant farms.

Making your own formicaria

If you are not attracted by prices in stores, then there is an opportunity to make a formicarium with your own hands. For the base, you can take two jars with transparent walls - large and small, so that later you can fill the space between them with the selected material. It can be a mixture of soil and sand, gypsum or gel.
Choose a large jar with a wide mouth to make it easier to fit a smaller jar

Soil and sand farm

First, prepare a mixture of one part sand and two parts soil. Make sure that the composition is slightly damp - it will be easier for the ants to break through the passages and chambers. The mixture will need so much that the space between the banks is filled 1.5 cm from the edge of the vessels. Make small holes in the lid for air circulation.

gel farm

Making such a farm on your own will be interesting for both adults and children. To do this, you will need gelatin and a flat container with a lid and transparent walls.

Three bags of gelatin, 15 grams each, pour 0.5 liters of hot water and stir well until the gelatin dissolves. Then add another 0.5 liters of water. Cool the resulting composition, pour into the selected container and refrigerate until completely solidified. Then take out the container and wait for the mass to warm up to room temperature. Since the gel composition is also food, it is not necessary to feed the ants in such an anthill - they will get the necessary food from their house.

gypsum truss

This formicarium is attractive in that it is completely open for observation of ants.

To create an anthill, take a transparent container, then dilute the gypsum to a state of thick sour cream. Pour the composition into a plastic transparent container, placing a plastic tube at the side. This is necessary in order to then pour water into the gypsum to maintain humidity in the formicarium.

The blank dries completely in about a week. After three to four days after pouring, remove it from the mold. To make the plaster come out easily, dip it in hot (not boiling) water for thirty seconds.

Now show your creativity - draw passages and rooms on the plaster. The composition is still raw, so it will not be difficult for you to scratch out any tunnels.

Drill the entrance for future residents of the farm with a drill. Take any tool convenient for you (stationery knife, screwdriver, etc.) and start making tracks according to your drawing, choosing plaster from them. Proceed with caution so that the wet composition does not crumble.

At the bottom of the formicarium, make indentations for better distribution of water and moistening of the anthill. Do not forget about the ventilation holes in the container. Drill them with a drill (diameter 0.5 mm) in the lid and side walls.

After that, you need to thoroughly dry the gypsum base and place it back in the container. If it doesn't fit, soak the mold again in hot water for 30 seconds. Your anthill is ready to move in.

Video: do-it-yourself gypsum farm

Where to buy ants for the farm. How to choose them correctly

You can purchase harvester ants in special online stores. The price is small - about 900 rubles. Typically, a colony includes about ten workers and one queen. But some shops offer a choice of formicaria with a large number of ants - about fifty individuals.

As a general rule, reaper ants are the best for home ant farms. They are large in size and unpretentious in terms of food.

How to feed and water ants

At home, reapers feed on sunflower, poppy or pumpkin seeds. Canary mixture is also suitable as feed - it consists of cereals and seeds of various plants. Do not feed insects with grain that is intended for sowing. He has a special treatment that has a detrimental effect on ants - they can die.

Meal worms, cockroaches or crickets are suitable as protein foods. Food consisting of chicken meat or yolk also has a detrimental effect on ants.

To organize a drinking bowl for ants, purchase a small test tube, fill it with water and tightly plug the hole with cotton wool - wetted with water from the test tube, it will become a source of water in the anthill. The main thing is to change the plug as it becomes dirty in order to avoid the appearance of mold in the formicarium.

Video: Reaper Ant Feeding

Do ants need wintering in formicaria

Reapers do not need wintering, but for the full development of the anthill, it is necessary to turn off the heating in the formicaria for several months a year. And also stop feeding them grain so that the colony lives on its own grain reserves.

What to do if the uterus died

If your uterus suddenly died, then most likely your formicarium is doomed to extinction. It is pointless to add a new queen - the ants will not take her for their uterus. Without a queen, worker ants do not live long and will soon die too. So there is only one way out - to acquire a new queen or colony and form another formicarium.

We learned about the amazing and complex life of ants, their habits and reproduction. We also received useful information about making formicaria and caring for a colony at home. And how your small farm will develop further depends only on the insects themselves.

Until recently, not so much was known about the life of these insects. In ancient times, ants in some countries served as an object of worship, and it is no coincidence that these creatures are one of the oldest insect species that exist on Earth. During excavations, fossils of these arthropods were found dating back over a hundred million years! And today, scientists studying the world of insects know for certain all the stages of ant development, the life expectancy of various individuals, and the strict hierarchy that exists inside the anthill. And they still never cease to amaze.

Complete transformation

In the anthill, life is seething and constantly updated. Like any insect, this one goes through a series of transformations in its life. Moreover, the stages of his life are significantly different functionally and externally. Four stages of ant development are known:

• egg;
• larva;
• chrysalis;
• adult (adult).

That is, all belong to insects with a full cycle of transformation, which is called holometabolism. As a rule, in most species, the entire development process takes about a month.

Ant developmental stage: egg, larva

The life of every insect begins with an egg. At this stage of ant development, the female (womb) lays eggs. They are small (length up to about a millimeter), oval, yellowish or whitish. They are cared for by worker ants: they sort the brood, find the optimal conditions so that larvae can develop from eggs. Usually the eggs are stored not one by one, but whole small packages. This is how the incubation period lasts.

At the end of the eggs, worm-like larvae emerge from the eggs, not too similar to adults. At first, the larvae can also be located together, in packages. After more adults - already separately. On this ant (photo - below) there is an enhanced feeding of the future arthropod. The larvae are again fed by working ants, delivering food abundantly and on time. It is characteristic that during the entire stage the larva does not excrete excrement, and defecation occurs only during pupation.

chrysalis

Ant developmental stages: egg, larva, adult. But between the second and last stages, there is also a pupal stage (in some insects it is absent - this is called a larva that stops feeding, excretes feces (meconium), weaves a cocoon. By the way, subfamilies of these insects are known in which the larvae of cocoons do not weave.

adult

An adult ant (imago) emerges from the cocoon at the end of its development. Scientists have learned that the young individual is pulled out of the shell by relatives - worker ants, since it cannot open the cocoon on its own. At the beginning of the journey, the adult ant has a lighter color, and after a few days it already acquires a body color indistinguishable from the rest. Since then, the worker ant does not grow, but feeds mainly on carbohydrate food. This completes the developmental stages of the ant.

Hierarchy

In any anthill there are three categories of insects: the uterus, male drones and worker ants. Males emerge from eggs that have not been fertilized. Their main role is participation in reproduction and fertilization. For mating flight, they need wings. They differ from worker ants in body size.

Worker ants are the basis of the strength of the anthill. They bear all the economic duties of the colony.

The uterus in comparison with the working ant is a real hulk. She first has wings, and then, after mating flight and fertilization, she bites them off, becoming "non-flying". Her entire life is devoted to laying eggs and procreation. "Ant queens" (wombs) under favorable conditions can live up to 5 years (in some species even longer). Whereas the worker ant lives only a few months (in some species - several years). Male drones live less: having mated, they die, or they are destroyed by other relative ants.

Theme at school

When working on the topic “Stages of development of an ant” (environment world, cf. school), you should pay attention to the fact that there are 4 periods in the life of an ant (and not three, as in some other insects). We tell about each of them in more detail, using photos and slides. You can also pick up a video about life in an anthill.

Some interesting facts

• Some of the species of these arthropods can be under water without air for 4 days, as if in a preserved state. Removed from the liquid, they come to life again and continue to exist.
• The legs of an ant (there are 6 of them, and each has 3 joints) are very strong. They are, as it were, intended by nature for hard work and the movement of goods. By the way, if this insect were as tall as people, then in proportion to physical data it could run at speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour and lift loads of one and a half tons!
• Ants, according to some researchers, have a collective mind, and the total number of their brain cells (for a single anthill) is comparable to the number of the same cells in humans.