Foreword: Although the ants are small, there is a good saying: the hearts of the people are moving together, the ants are numerous, and through their "heart unity", an underground social structure is built on the earth.
This social outcome allows ants to efficiently perform a variety of tasks, from building nests and foraging for food to protecting nests, with each individual ant playing a unique and critical role in the community...
Wonderful construction of the social structure
The social structure of the ant community is a masterpiece of nature:
The queen ant is the center and core of the community, responsible for breeding and laying eggs, the worker ant is the main labor force of the community, responsible for nesting, foraging, feeding larvae, etc., the soldier ant is mainly responsible for patrolling and protecting the nest and acting as the defense force of the community, and the male ant is responsible for mating with the queen ant during the breeding season.
This social structure of division of labor and cooperation allows the whole community to operate efficiently in all aspects and exert collective strength, and the social structure of the ant community is not static, but will be flexibly adjusted according to the needs of the community and changes in the environment.
One of the keys to its success is the coordinated actions of the ant community, which communicate and communicate with each other by releasing chemicals such as pheromones when carrying out complex tasks.
Through the release of pheromones, the ant community can achieve a high degree of coordinated action and effectively solve various problems of survival and reproduction, and the information transmission of the ant community is not limited to chemical signals, but also includes touch, sound and other ways.
Ants are able to transmit information through touch, vibration, and sound, making communication between individuals in a community more comprehensive and complex.
This multi-level information transmission mechanism helps the ant community to work better together and quickly adapt to changes in the environment, and the ant community shows a kind of collective intelligence, that is, the decision-making and behavior of the entire community depends not only on the intelligence of individuals, but also on the exchange and coordination of information within the community.
When we were children, we must have squatted on the ground to watch the ants move the food, and when an ant found the food and tried to move the food by itself, it would "talk" to the ants it encountered on the way back.
In fact, this is to transmit information, knowing the message of the worker ants will quickly find the destination, and then release pheromones, not long after, there will be several worker ants, when carrying food, the worker ants will form an orderly queue between the worker ants, carry the food back to the nest.
This kind of group collaboration not only improves the efficiency of the task, but also reduces competition between individuals, allowing the community as a whole to make better use of resources and achieve balance within the ecosystem.
In the face of various challenges, the ant community is able to make quickly and adaptable decisions, such as finding new food sources and responding to natural predator threats.
This manifestation of collective intelligence enables the ant community to survive and reproduce in a complex and changeable natural environment, demonstrating a kind of swarm intelligence that transcends individuals.
The social structure of the ant community is not a product of overnight development, but has evolved over a long period of time, and the social structure of the ant community has gradually developed and improved under different environmental and ecological conditions to meet its needs for survival and reproduction.
In this evolutionary process, the interaction between individuals within the community and the way information is transmitted have changed, allowing the ant community to better adapt to the changing natural environment.
Burn ants
The unity of the ants does not happen overnight, and what will the ants do if a fire surrounds the ant hole?
The temperature of the fire is very high, not to mention ants, even our human skin tissues can be scalded after being "baptized" by fire, and even cause life-threatening injuries.
So, how does an ant, with such a weak and small body, face the flames?
When the flames burn into the cavern, they will immediately retreat deep into the ground:
We all know that ants usually build complex underground nest systems, including multiple passages and "rooms", and when danger is perceived, ants may go deep underground, away from fire, to protect queens, larvae, etc.
Transporting eggs, larvae, and food: If possible, ants will transport eggs, larvae, and stored food to a safer area of the nest, away from fire.
But what would the ants do if a meadow caught fire and a swarm of ants happened to be here?
They will be in the face of the fact that they would rather be burned than destroyed, and the ants will form a ball and flow through the fire.
When the crackling sound is over, the remaining ants, the ants in the middle of the ball, can escape, and the ants in the outermost layer have already been scorched.
And in winter, the ants will also be united.
They will block the entrance of the cave with mud, sand, leaves, stones, and other objects to prevent other creatures from entering, and second, to prevent snow and ice from entering the cave, so that the temperature inside the cave will be lower.
Small ants, big impact
Don't look at the ants so small, in fact, people can help a lot of ecological problems.
Soil improvement: Grassland ants actually improve the biomechanics of the soil through their act of digging nests, and the excavation of the nests makes the soil structure more loose and increases the ventilation of the soil.
This helps to improve the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the soil, providing a better living environment for microorganisms in the soil, while the accumulation of ant nests also adds organic matter to the soil and promotes soil fertility.
Water infiltration: The excavation of ant nests contributes to the infiltration of water in the soil, and the presence of nests makes it easier for rainwater to penetrate deep into the soil, reducing surface runoff and helping to maintain water balance.
This is important for the growth of plants and the survival of other soil organisms, as ants also bring in some organic matter when digging into their nests, further promoting the soil's ability to retain water.
Seed dispersal: Ants also play a role as seed dispersants in ecosystems, and the seeds of some plants have a special attachment structure that allows them to adhere to the ant's body surface.
Ants carry these seeds with them while patrolling to forage for food, and discard them near their nests or elsewhere, a behavior that helps plants multiply and prompt new vegetation to take root and sprout in different areas.
Organic decomposition: Ants bring a large amount of organic matter into their nests in search of food, including plant residues, insect carcasses, etc.
In the nest, these organic substances mix with ant secretions and microorganisms to form an organic-rich anthill soil with good fertility that aids in plant growth while also promoting the development of soil microbial communities.
Ecosystem stability: Ants contribute to the stability of the entire ecosystem through their various behaviors, such as digging nests and regulating the food chain.
They play a regulatory role in maintaining the interrelationships between various organisms and promoting soil fertility, and ant colonies in ecosystems are able to adapt to different environmental conditions, thereby maintaining the resilience and sustainability of ecosystems.