The world around us is fraught with many mysteries and surprises. It is so rich in species diversity that to the common man It is impossible to comprehend all the subtleties of nature. Particularly numerous representatives of the animal world are insects.
Nomadic ants - features of insects
Every person has encountered ants in his life. These tiny workers always cause admiration and surprise among people. Their work is organized to the smallest detail. Every resident of the anthill works for the common good. But did you know that there are a huge number of varieties of these insects? And some of them are very dangerous.
African nomadic ants got their name because of their behavior. They do not create their own anthill in a specific place, but lead a nomadic lifestyle, migrating in colonies from one area to another.
The movement of the column occurs during the daytime. In 1 hour, ants are able to overcome from 100 to 300 m. The width of the column can reach 15 m. Then it narrows, forming something like a tail, the length of which can stretch to 45 m.
Nomadic ants, moving in entire colonies, sweep away everything in their path. These insects are dangerous to both animals and people. very painful, and can cause an allergic reaction in a person, and this, in turn, can lead to anaphylactic shock and suffocation.
Insect habitats
Nomadic ants are found not only in Africa. The habitat of these insects is the tropics. Therefore, you can see them on two American continents, in Central and South Asia. Insects like tropical and subtropical climates.
Description of the species
The size of the colony can reach 22 million individuals. The largest is the uterus. Its length during the egg-laying period is 5 cm, which is a record among various kinds ants. The queen is capable of producing a huge number of individuals, so the size of the colony does not decrease. Some insects die, but new nomadic ants immediately take their place.
The desire to migrate is observed only in two subspecies:
- Ecitoninae.
- Dorylinae.
When moving, ant soldiers are responsible for defense, so they are concentrated at the edges of the column. Inner part occupied by workers who drag future offspring and food.
Since the movement of the column occurs only during the daytime, at night the ants create a nest of living labor force, the diameter of which is about a meter. The insects cling to each other with their paws, forming a secluded place for their queen and her offspring. To create such a nest, about 150 - 700 thousand individuals are used.
Migration does not last long, only a few days, after which the sedentary phase begins, which lasts from several weeks to 3 months. During this period, the queen lays a huge number of eggs (100 - 300 thousand) and by the end of the stay, larvae will appear from them. At the same time, adult individuals - adults - will emerge from the cocoons of the previous offspring.
Insect feeding
The favorite delicacy of ants are insects such as:
- bee;
- termite.
Nomadic ants of the African continent also feed on carrion, and it does not matter at all what kind of animal they eat, large or small. Stray insects mercilessly absorb everything that comes their way:
- different types of insects;
- snake;
- bird's nests;
- small invertebrates;
- amphibians.
The ants pierce the victim and inject it with a dose of a toxic, poisonous substance. Since the speed of insects is not too high (up to 20 km/h), weak, slow and wounded animals most often become their prey.
Do nomadic ants have enemies?
Oddly enough, such a dangerous insect as the nomadic ant still has an enemy - the praying mantis. But the organization of the ant colony is so high that insects can easily cope even with such an enemy. Seeing a praying mantis, one of the ants rushes towards it and digs in with its jaws, injecting poison. Even if the insect dies, the remaining individuals, seeing such a signal, group and fight back the offender. In this case, you cannot envy the praying mantis; it is in danger of death.
Because of this collective organization of the column, no one risks hunting ants.
How long do these insects live?
Few people know that life expectancy reaches 10 - 15 years. Other individuals of the colony live much shorter, from 2 months to 2 years maximum. Under laboratory conditions, the lifespan of individual insects was 4 years.
Fascinating facts about nomadic ants
- Nomadic killer ants that pose a mortal danger to humanity are a complete fiction created by the film industry. Of course, insect bites are a big threat for people who are allergic to toxic substances, but not a single case of human death has been recorded. Therefore, it would be unfair to call nomadic ants killers.
- These insects are excellent orderlies. They clean agricultural plantations from various pests.
- On the African continent, nomadic ants are the most dangerous predators.
- Insects are able to move in the footsteps of their relatives.
- Ants have no vision at all, but they have well-developed hearing.
- The queen in the colony has no rights. Its task is to breed new offspring.
- Peoples Central Africa they leave their homes and move their livestock away as soon as information appears that a column of ants is moving in the direction of their settlement.
- If the nomadic ants move towards the prison, then prisoners who have not committed serious crimes and are not sentenced to death are released during the insect invasion.
Varieties of dangerous ants
In our regions, we often encounter ants, but all of them do not pose a danger to people, which cannot be said about some species living in tropical climates. There are species that contain aggressive poison. The following are considered dangerous:
- Siafu are nomadic army ants. Habitat: Australia. The insect has powerful jaws. Like other species of nomadic ants, there is no permanent anthill. Insects build a bivouac (temporary housing), which consists of the bodies of working individuals. Bites are dangerous for humans as they can cause allergies.
- Bullet ants. These insects have a very strong poison - ponerotoxin. The bite causes terrible pain that does not subside within 24 hours. This type of insect is found in the tropics and subtropics of the South American continent. Indian tribes used these ants for initiation rites. A bracelet, which was covered with insects, was attached to the young man’s hand. The ants bit the boy, after which his limbs were paralyzed for 2-3 days, and the bite sites turned black. The worst thing is that the young man must undergo this execution 20 times, and only after that he can be considered a real man.
- Fiery. This type of ant is very dangerous to humans. In one year, about 20 were recorded deaths after a bite that caused a severe allergic reaction. Habitat: Asia, southern Europe and America. Ants easily adapt to environment, populating unknown territories. The poison is called solenopsin. The bite feels like pain from a burn and provokes the formation of a tumor.
- A large insect that is very poisonous. Three out of a hundred people bitten experienced anaphylactic shock. It is very difficult to predict what the body’s reaction to such a poison will be, because it is very different in its chemical composition from toxins contained in the sting of bees and wasps.
Nomadic ants, the description of which was discussed in the article, are truly amazing representatives of the animal world. One can only envy their organization and coordinated work.
Nomadic ants, regularly migrating in colonies of millions, live in the tropical zones of Africa, Asia and America. Insects do not build permanent nests; their sedentary phase of life lasts no more than 2-3 weeks. They move during the day, and for the night they set up a bivouac from their own bodies, in the center of which is the uterus. A horde that travels 1-3 km leaves nothing alive behind it. Powerful mandibles cut not only insects, but small mammals and birds. Stray ants are called killers, often exaggerating their danger.
Description
Several related groups of true ants share a similar lifestyle called the nomadic ant syndrome. Their characteristic feature– regular migrations. Numerous colonies of insects, reaching several million, move within 1-2 weeks. They carry eggs, larvae, and the queen with them. Nomadic individuals do not build anthills; by interlocking bodies, they build a nest for numerous family members and the queen.
Nomadic ants
Adult
The body of an adult ant consists of three sections: head, chest (mesosoma) and abdomen. The stalk connecting the thoracic segments and the abdomen is called petiole. The chitinous exoskeleton protects and supports the insect's body. On the ant's head there are antennae consisting of 8-10 segments. These are sensory organs that detect vibrations and chemical odors.
Interesting fact. Most wandering ants do not have visual organs or they are greatly reduced. Blind insects navigate in space using their antennae. They communicate with each other by releasing pheromones.
The upper jaws of mandible ants vary in size, but are always well developed. In working individuals, they are designed to carry eggs and larvae and food. For the soldiers it is powerful weapon. Strong mandibles help tear apart enemies. Insects have 3 pairs of legs; their paws have claws that help them move around. vertical surface. The abdomen of some species ends in a sting.
Interesting fact. Soldier ants of the genus Dorylus do not open their closed jaws even after death.
Communication system
There are 75 glands in the ant's body; they secrete various substances, including pheromones and repellents. Nomadic species have dozens of special signal odors produced in different situations. With the help of pheromones, scouts indicate the direction of movement of the entire column and report the location of the prey.
Ant hierarchy
The nomad ant family consists of hundreds of thousands or millions of individuals. They all obey a strict hierarchy and act as a single harmonious organism. The basis of a large colony is made up of worker ants. These are infertile females. Specialized groups are formed from them: workers, foragers, scouts, soldiers. Males are several times larger than representatives of the working caste. The main figure of the family is the queen. She is the only female involved in giving birth to new members of the colony. The queen's lifespan is 15-20 years.
A significant part of the family is brood - eggs, larvae, pupae. The workers take care of him. In the family, responsibilities are clearly divided, each insect is busy with its own work. A highly organized colony is capable of building bridges and nests from the bodies of ants, resisting enemies, and hunting.
Classification
There are three subfamilies of tropical nomad ants in the world. The main classification occurs according to habitat:
- Aenictus are small to medium-sized insects common in Asia, Australia and Africa. Working individuals are yellow-brown in color, their body length does not exceed 3.5 mm. Males and females of the genus are much larger, reaching 25 mm. Differences are also manifested in the anatomical structure - in working ants the stalk between the chest and abdomen consists of two segments, in males and females it has one. The subfamily unites about 180 species.
- Dorylinae - main habitat regions are tropical Asia and Africa. The large group includes 800 species. The most famous genus is Dorylus. Depending on the hierarchy, ants vary significantly in size. Workers 3 mm, soldiers 13 mm, males 30 mm, females 50 mm. The number of individuals in one migrating colony is about 20 million.
- Ecitoninae - insects are found in the New World in the United States, the southern border of their habitat is Argentina and Chile. American raptors spend most of their lives traveling and hunting. During migration, places in the column are clearly allocated. Worker ants move in the middle and bear offspring. Soldiers on the sides protect their relatives from enemy attacks. The color of the imago ranges from brown to black.
Lifestyle
Nomadic ant syndrome manifests itself in the behavior and reproductive characteristics of insects. Its signs:
- collective foraging;
- construction of temporary nest-bivouacs;
- regular change of phases of settlement and migration;
- subordination of the reproductive cycle to the colony's movement schedule.
With the onset of dusk, the construction of the bivouac begins. A temporary nest in the shape of a ball from the bodies of working individuals is built in a secluded place. The queen and offspring are placed inside. The bivouac has several entrances. The diameter of the bivouac is about 1 meter; it requires 500-700 thousand ants to build. African siafu ants dig nests in soft soil. Blind mole rats quickly prepare a shelter for a huge family of up to 20 million individuals. Their distinguishing feature- absence of sting. It is replaced by powerful mandibles; painful bites cause discomfort even to elephants. The jaws easily cut the coverings of insects and animals and tear off pieces of flesh from them.
Nomadic ants at any age feed exclusively on meat. For small larvae, hunters hunt for spiders, caterpillars, beetles, locusts, and scorpions. Birds that make nests on the ground and small vertebrates (lizards, snakes, rodents) become victims of predators. The colony cleans the found corpses of large animals, leaving behind only bones.
Features of reproduction
The reproductive function of the colony is assigned to the queen uterus. Tropical nomad ants have one queen, while other species may have several. The large winged female mates with the male during her first flight. Until the end of her life, she uses up the stored sperm. The adult fertilized queen sheds her wings. She is always protected by working ants. During movement, the cylindrical elongated abdomen of the female is slender. As hundreds of thousands of eggs mature, it swells. By the beginning of the stationary phase, the larvae turn into cocoons and do not require nutrition. All the meat obtained by the hunters is given to the queen.
Ants belong to Hymenoptera insects with complete transformation. This means that their life begins with the egg phase, then the larva emerges. Ants turn into adults after pupation. The formation of eggs begins during the period of sedentary life. The fertility of a female is 200-300 thousand pieces. The embryonic period lasts up to three weeks. By the time of the new migration, larvae emerge from the eggs.
This process is synchronized by the development of pupae; adults emerge from the cocoons of the previous clutch. To feed the larvae, the colony sets off. By the time they pupate, the column finds a place to stay.
Once a year, the queen makes a special clutch from which reproductive females and males emerge. As they age, they leave the family and form their own colonies.
Benefits and dangers for humans
The beneficial actions of stray insects do not exclude danger to humans. Once on the path of the colony, a person risks being bitten by hundreds of individuals. Nomadic ants do not bite their prey immediately. They crawl under clothes in large numbers and act on a signal. For people prone to allergies, such an attack ends in anaphylactic shock. Attacks on people and animals are rare. The main prey of ants is other insects. Tropical wandering ants clear forests of animal corpses and destroy sick and weak individuals.
The most dangerous ants in the world February 8th, 2018
When you hear the word ant, almost everyone will have a picture of an ordinary small, small black ant, or its red forest counterpart.
However, among the large number of these insects, there are also ants that, despite small sizes capable of sowing horror and panic not only among people, but also among animals. It's about about an army ant soldier.
The most dangerous ants in the world are army ants, which are found in the beds of the Amazon River, in Asia and Africa. The size of such ants ranges from 12 mm to 3 cm. The body of these dangerous ants It is yellow-gray in color and covered with many hairs. They have sword-like stingers that are half the size of their body. Army ants are aggressive and completely blind. Everything they encounter on their way turns into small pieces. They do not see or sense the size of their prey and attack everything that moves.
The name “army ant” comes from the fact that a colony of thousands never sits still. Their movement stops only when the queen lays eggs. While she is laying them, the ants are looking for food for future offspring. When small ants appear, these dangerous ants continue to move the column further.
In their own way, these insects unique creations nature. They do not need any anthills, and they do not build them, since they are nomadic insects. They got their name due to the fact that the ant colony consists of about a million individuals; in reality, it is just a mobile battalion. While the queen is busy breeding offspring, the ants scour the entire area in order to provide themselves and the future generation with food.
Another feature that sets them apart from other ants is their ability to use their bodies to create organic architectural structures. Clinging to each other, they form any structure that will be used for the benefit of the entire colony. These are not only living “walls” that protect their offspring and their queen from bad weather, but also bridges that make it possible to overcome any obstacle.
Reproduction
When the time comes for the queen to lay eggs, the number of which can reach several thousand, the entire ant colony stops for a break. After small larvae emerge from the eggs, the column, carefully lifting them, begins its movement again, bringing death and ruin on its way.
Army ant nutrition
This type of ant eats everything that comes in its way. What’s especially scary is that, due to their blindness, they even attack victims that are a thousand times their size. An animal that comes across on the way, which did not think to get out of the way in time, or is simply sleeping, they attack the whole squad at once. Thus, the victim does not even have time to understand what is happening, he is dismembered and eaten alive. These insects do not require poisonous stings or the use of ballistic acid; they act on the psyche of the animal, causing it boundless panic.
If you believe scientists, then soldier ants do this not because they are very hungry, but simply everything that comes their way appears to them as a threat to the existence of the entire colony.
Enemies of the army ant
After the above, it is probably difficult to imagine that these insects could have enemies. To date, there is no information about such things.
Are army ants dangerous for humans?
There is information that a colony of these ants ate animals the size of a horse. Army ants inspire fear and horror among the inhabitants of Africa, as they destroy everything in their path. They even learned to build bridges from themselves to get across the river. These giant ants They eat poultry and rats. People find horses and dogs tied up dead. It’s scary to even imagine what will happen to a person if he encounters such an army. They eat a large animal in about 6-7 days.
The use of army ants in medicine.
In Africa, army ants are used as surgical clamps. They are brought to the edge of the wound, the ants bite through it, after which the ant's body is cut off, and the jaws connect the edges until the wound heals.
Today it is still not known exactly how many species of ants exist in the world, but scientists can reliably say that army ants are the most dangerous ants in the world.
Sources:
When you hear the word ant, almost everyone will have a picture of an ordinary small, small black ant, or its red forest counterpart.
However, among the large number of these insects, there are also ants that, despite their small size, are capable of sowing horror and panic not only among people, but also among animals. We are talking about an army ant soldier.
Appearance of a “soldier”
Length adult the size of a soldier ant is 1.5 cm. Among other representatives of this family, these are quite large insects.
The body of the army ant itself has a dark red color, covered with thin hairs that match the color of the body, the head is several tones lighter. Despite the presence of eyes, this ant sees absolutely nothing. In addition, the insect is equipped with powerful, sharp and massive mandibles, the size of which is equal to half of its body. It is these adaptations that ants have that have the destructive effect of all living things, no matter what their size.
Habitat of the army ant
The species lives in the riverbeds of the Amazon.
The families that exist today live in the riverbeds of the Amazon.
Army Ant Lifestyle
In their own way, these insects are unique creatures of nature. They do not need any anthills, and they do not build them, since they are nomadic insects. They got their name due to the fact that the ant colony consists of about a million individuals; in reality, it is just a mobile battalion. While the queen is busy breeding offspring, the ants scour the entire area in order to provide themselves and the future generation with food.
Soldier ants do not need any anthills.
Another feature that sets them apart from other ants is their ability to use their bodies to create organic architectural structures. Clinging to each other, they form any structure that will be used for the benefit of the entire colony. These are not only living “walls” that protect their offspring and their queen from bad weather, but also bridges that make it possible to overcome any obstacle.
Reproduction
When the time comes for the queen to lay eggs, the number of which can reach several thousand, the entire ant colony stops for a break. After small larvae emerge from the eggs, the column, carefully lifting them, begins its movement again, bringing death and ruin on its way.
18.01.2016
Ants are small, nimble insects that many people associate with hard work. Despite their small body size, these insects can lift a load several times their weight. There are many varieties of ants in nature. There are individuals that are completely harmless, but there are also dangerous ants that can harm human health. They will be discussed in this article.
Varieties of dangerous ants
The danger of some varieties of ants is that their body contains poison that is deadly to humans. The good news is that there are not many dangerous species of these insects in nature. But human fear sometimes he paints terrifying pictures of an attack by hordes of ants killing a person.
This is interesting! An acute allergic reaction provoked by the bite of a poisonous ant often becomes fatal.
Of course, many of these ideas have no basis in reality, but, nevertheless, poisonous ants still exist in nature. Scientific researchers prefer not to use the common name killer ants, giving these insects less critical nicknames.
Army ants (Siafu nomadic ants)
Nomadic ants, also called siafu, soldier or Australian ants, are characterized by the following distinctive features:
- Powerful jaws, with the help of which these insects destroy everything that comes in their way.
- The absence of a permanent anthill in a colony of nomadic ants. Insects of this species spend most of their lives wandering, which is why people give them another name - wandering killer ants.
- The habitat becomes a temporary dwelling - a bivouac, built by working individuals connecting to each other with their jaws. Outwardly, the bivouac is a chaotic sphere, inside of which, however, perfect order reigns.
The soldier ant scares people with its appearance, which is truly terrifying. The insect's jaws are larger than the head. And the body size of a nomadic ant is much larger than that of ordinary individuals, up to one and a half cm in length. But the female nomadic ant is considered especially huge, whose body length during the egg-laying period is about 5 cm. Such body parameters make it the largest insect of this species in the world.
In general, the danger of nomadic ants is exaggerated by people. They can naturally attack, leaving human body painful bites that provoke the appearance of severe allergic reactions. However, no cases of death from the bites of siafu ants have been recorded. The basis of the diet of this species is:
- other small and large insects;
- lizards;
- bird chicks;
- frogs.
Bullet Ants
The bullet ant is so named because of its powerful bites that cause incredible pain in the affected area. The venom of this species of ants contains a powerful toxin called poneratoxin. Immediately after the bite, the pain persists for at least 24 hours.
The bullet ant is one of the most large insects this variety. Body length worker bullets are approximately 2 - 2.5 cm, and in females - up to 3 cm.
Puli ants live mainly in the territory South America and are even used by Indian tribes for male initiation rites. Boys wear a bracelet covered with live bullet ants on their wrists. After their bites, the child’s hand remains paralyzed for several days, and not only a loss of sensitivity is observed in it, but also blackening of the skin at the sites of the bites.
Bulldog Ants
What is known about bulldog ants is that they are quite large individuals, but what made them popular in the world was not their body size, but their toxicity.
Black bulldog ants bite painfully, and their bites often provoke the development of severe allergic reactions. Approximately 3% of people bitten experienced anaphylactic shock. Guess the reaction in advance human body impossible for bites. The active components of bulldog ant venom differ from those contained in the venom of wasps or bees.
Fire ants are characterized by the following distinctive features:
- After their bites he dies large number people.
- Mortality from bites is about 20 cases in just one year.
- A fire ant bite provokes the development of a tumor and severe burning sensation in the affected area.
- Their habitat is extensive and is represented by the countries of Europe, America and Asia.
- Death can occur as a result of an allergic reaction.
- Insects have the ability to quickly adapt to new living conditions and very quickly colonize new territories.
- Not only people, but also animals (wild or domestic) suffer from fire ant bites.
When a fire ant bites, it injects the toxin solenopsin into the wound on the human body.
This is interesting! The fire ant got its name because the pain from its bite on the Schmidt scale corresponds to the painful sensations after a burn from an open fire.
At first glance, yellow ants are absolutely safe and have small body sizes. But at the same time, they are among the most poisonous insects all over the planet. The habitat of yellow ants is limited only American state Arizona. The main distinguishing signs of a bite yellow ant are:
- the appearance of a large tumor at the site of the bite;
- high probability of death of a person after being bitten by a yellow ant;
- development of a severe allergic reaction;
- one bite of a yellow ant will be enough to kill a creature weighing about 2 kg.
Red Harvester
Red Harvester is aggressive and very dangerous look poisonous ants living in the US state of Arizona. The main symptom of this ant’s bite is the appearance of a tumor, and also - severe allergies, which can be fatal.
The most dangerous ant in the world
The bullet ant is one of the most dangerous species of insects of this type. Their main habitat is tropical forests, stretching from Paraguay to Nicaragua. This insect lives mainly in trees. An interesting fact is that the bullet ant can scream, and does this every time it senses danger approaching its home, located among the branches of trees.
The story of a certain ritual performed by aborigines from Indian tribes has already been mentioned above. It involves the initiation of young boys into adulthood. It happens as follows: a teenager who has reached the age of majority receives as a gift a small wicker cape made from fresh leaves, in which hundreds of ants are intertwined. The weaving of insects occurs with their stings inward, and when a young man puts his hands into this bandage, many ants sting him mercilessly. The young man’s task is to hold out in such attire for 10 minutes. For this short time the arms become completely paralyzed, and the whole body shakes from spasms for several days. But the test doesn't end there. To prove that he a real man, a young man from an Indian tribe will have to undergo a similar test about 20 times.