Formicidae, 2 to 20 mm long, antennal knee-shaped, 9 to 10 segments, 1 to 2 nodules at the basal end of the abdomen, most easily recognizable. The camp "social life" has obvious multi-type phenomena, and each nest group contains male ants, female ants and female worker ants with underdeveloped reproductive system (some species of worker ants have soldier ants with developed upper palate). Most species of female and male ants have wings, while worker ants and soldier ants have no wings.
<h3>Temperature and humidity</h3>
Ants can grow normally within 15-40 °C, but the optimal temperature is between 25-30 °C. In winter below 10 ° C will enter the cave, but will not hibernate. It's just that they are no longer active, and they eat the food stored in the autumn inside the cave.
The soil moisture of ants should be controlled between 10%-20%; the relative humidity of the air should be controlled between 70%-90%.
ant
<h3>nest</h3>
Ants are social insects that live in clusters and are very nest-loving. Most species nest in the ground or on trees, and have a heterogeneous diet, generally planted and meaty. Polyrhachis dives, like other ants, generally use their nests as a family. There are one or dozens of queens (females) in a nest. Worker ants specialize in nesting, foraging, raising young, etc., and the largest number.
In the wild, when the savage harvest ants build their own nests, they will separate the place where they usually inhabit and the storage room where the seeds are stored, and the location of the storage room is higher than the place where the usual habitat activities are, and the seeds are not easy to germinate when the storage room is in a dry environment.[1]
<h3>Communication</h3>
For example, the ants of the genus Oecophylla communicate with the smell of secretions, because they usually live in an ant nest, so this communication method is better than other hymenoptera insects, if an ant finds food, it will leave a smell on the way home, other ants will go along this route to find food, and constantly strengthen the smell. If the food here is collected and no ants come back, the smell will gradually dissipate. If one ant is crushed, it will emit a strong odor, which immediately arouses the vigilance of other ants and is in a state of attack. Some species of ants also emit a smell that confuses enemies.
Ants, like other insects, rely on their antennae to distinguish odors, and the first section of the antennae is thick, knee-bending, and very flexible. Because the antennae are a pair, they can distinguish both the intensity of the odor and the direction distance of the source of the odor, and the adult insects exchange feeding food with each other, and understand each other's health and nutritional status through their smell, and the food found by the other party. At the same time, it can also distinguish that the other party belongs to the group engaged in that kind of task, such as those responsible for digging holes and nests, or those responsible for collecting food. In general, older worker ants are sent out of the nest to work.
<h3>Attack and defense</h3>
Ants attack or defend themselves by biting with two large teeth, and when they bite, they secrete formic acid (formic acid), which stimulates the redness and pain of the wound that is bitten.
<h3>Lazy ants</h3>
Most ants are very industrious and busy with daily tasks, but some ants have nothing to do. By studying the anatomy and behavioral information of these lazy ants, it was found that they did not "eat white food" in the colony as previously expected. Their bodies can hold more egg cells. These results suggest that lazy ants are not simply old, unable to work worker ants. Instead, they may be immature worker ants. Physical evidence suggests that they may be storing food for their companions, and that their eggs may be used for other ants to eat. When these lazy ants can store food, larger amounts of labor will be useful, such as guarding nests. It is also possible to replace foraging dead worker ants.[2]
<h3>graze</h3>
Ants have an extraordinary ability to "graze" aphids for good food. Aphids, also known as honey worms, suck the juice of plants and excrete a thick and transparent sweet liquid - honeydew, which is the "milk" that ants love very much. Ants guard these aphids from ladybugs or other predators, and from time to time stimulate the aphids' abdomen with their antennae, causing them to continue to produce "honeydew" – like herders raising cows. When aphids on a branch multiply, ants will carry them to new branches, just as herders look for new pastures. Ants sometimes keep aphid eggs in nests, and after the aphids hatch, the ants carefully send them to the young branches, just as people lead cows to grass. On the surface, both ants and aphids benefit from this symbiotic relationship, but scientists have found that ants secrete a chemical that calms aphids and inhibits the growth of aphid wings, making it quieter and slower, more obedient to the ant's control. In fact, the "cow of the ant" aphid has become a slave to the ants.
<h3>Slavery</h3>
Every summer, the Blood Red Forest Ant (Formica sanguinea) captures slaves. They infiltrate the nests of another type of ant, such as the peace-loving Great Black Ant (Formica fusca), kill the latter's queen, kidnap the pupae and breed them into the next generation of slaves. As the slaves hatched in their new nests, the ants seemed to know nothing about their abduction. They dutifully collect food and defend the entire population as if it were their own home.
<h3>Resources</h3>
1. Antaceae – Successful Evolution [Cited 2019-05-08]
2. Research reveals that lazy ants lay eggs for industrious companions to eat [Cited on 2019-05-08]
3. Ant Grazing and Building a House Four Philosophies Are a Model for Shenzhen People to Learn [Citation Date2019-06-28]
4. Cracking the Mystery of Ant "Slavery" [Cited on 2019-06-28]
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