Ants are insects with three body parts, three pairs of legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Except for Antarctica and a few islands, ants live all around the world.
Queen ants take regular naps while worker ants take 250 minute naps a day, giving them 4 – 5 hours of sleep daily. Ants lift and carry many times their weight. Asian weaver ants carry over 100 times their body weight. Ants attack by biting and stinging, often spraying chemicals. The sting of some ants can be fatal.
There are over 12,000 ant species. The bullet ant sting is said to be the most painful. Fire ants cause over £3 billion in damage yearly. Ants are the longest living insects. Relative to size, ants are the world’s strongest creatures. Odorous house ants live around two to three years. Different species have different lifespans. Odorous house ants commonly live in homes.
Ants have six legs with three joints on each. Their large heads have compound eyes, elbowed antennae and powerful jaws. Ants are very small insects that live in colonies. They have three main body parts, two antennae and six legs.
Ants play a key ecosystem role. They pollinate plants, indicate if food is safe to eat and keep pests out of homes. At night ants build temporary nests, protecting the queen, food and eggs with their bodies.
Ant plants have hollows for ants to live in or feed on sugary secretions. The ants defend the plant from herbivores and may prune parasitic plants.
The entire nervous system of ants matters, with antennae crucial in locating food, obstacles and enemies. Ants originated from the Germanic term “ǣmaitjōn,” meaning “the biter.”
Certain ant species provide insights on topics from social behavior to traffic patterns. Ant colonies vary greatly in size from a few dozen to thousands of ants. Ants can lift 3,400 to 5,000 times their body weight due to their neck joints and small size.
Every ant is a superhero, able to lift over 20 times its body weight. Each ant colony has a caste system of workers, soldiers and queens. Workers maintain the colony, soldiers defend it and queens lay eggs.
Can ants feel pain?
Ants can definitely sense harm and react. But there is a difference between sensing harm and experiencing pain. Just sensing damage but no pain is nociception. Pain involves an unpleasant sensation and negative reaction to injury. You get nociception – the nervous system informs the brain you’ve been hurt. Then the brain processes this to produce pain. But you can get one without the other.
As far as entomologists are concerned, insects do not have pain receptors like vertebrates. They don’t feel ‘pain,’ but may irritation and can sense if damaged. Even so, they cannot suffer as they don’t have emotions. Ants exhibit behaviors that suggest discomfort. For example, ants rub legs when injured or distressed. This self-soothing behavior is similar to humans rubbing a sore spot. Some scientists interpret this as evidence of discomfort, possibly pain. However, others argue this communicates with other ants, not pain.
They feel a deeper pain level, but differently from vertebrates. Ants don’t have emotions like love or empathy. Yet they approach pleasant things and avoid unpleasant ones using antennae to smell. Ants don’t feel ‘pain’ as we do. However, they have simple feelings like fear and happiness triggered by chemicals released when attacked or killed. Ants respond to stimuli like heat and pressure changes with avoidance behaviors similar to what we do when hurt. But they don’t genuinely feel pain the same way due to nociception. Nociception signals the nervous system due to stimulation of sensory receptors.
It is common to accidentally kill an ant. They cannot feel the painful sensation but can sense damage extent. Ants release chemicals or pheromones from glands that help nest mates identify injury. These molecules warn about death and infection risk. So they feel slight discomfort and irritation when killed.
It is advised not to squash ants. Doing so releases pheromones and more ants, causing trouble. Ant bites cause short excruciating pain. Insects are unlikely to feel pain as we understand it. They detect and respond to some injury, but observations of unresponsiveness don’t rule out pain, particularly in other contexts.
Are ants a bad pest?
Ants can be bad for the garden. They protect some plant pests like aphids. Aphids feed on plants. Ant hills can also spoil lawns. Ants invade homes quickly and quietly. If they find food, many more will follow. Ants are good at pest control. In 300 A.D, growers used ants to control pests. Ants unintentionally pollinate plants. But some ants damage plants by tunnelling into roots or stems. After treatment, ant activity may increase. Their colonies become disrupted. To prevent ants, keep your home clean. Seal cracks and crevices. Store food in airtight containers. Inspect plants regularly for signs of ants. Apply pesticides if necessary. Call a professional exterminator if ants persist. Treatment aims to kill the whole colony. Baits and insecticides work best. They let ants unknowingly spread poison in the nest. Barriers can then stop reinfestation. With proper treatment, ants can be managed.
Why do ants suddenly appear?
Ants explore mainly to try and find sources of food. Whenever there’s a sudden ant infestation, the most likely cause of it is that there’s food somewhere in your house for them.
Most ants are opportunistic feeders; they’ll eat just about anything. But they usually prefer sweets. Ants are attracted to a wide variety of food sources that you might have, including: Sugar.
Infestations appear to be more likely during periods where there has been heavy rainfall or dry, hot, drought-like conditions. Why this is the case isn’t as well understood. The most likely explanation is that they are either avoiding cold, wet conditions or have found a source of water in your home during dry, hotter times.
Ants will initially come into your home because they are looking for food, shelter or water. Ants explore mainly to try and find sources of food. Whenever there’s a sudden ant infestation, the most likely cause of it is that there’s food somewhere in your house for them.
The flying ants you see once a year are males and young queens. Every year, normally in July or August, a large number of flying ants suddenly appear. This “nuptial flight” is why ants fly. Ants mate in flight, so both males and young queens have wings.
In warmer climates, little black ants can multiply extremely fast during the summertime because they are perfect for them to breed quickly. That is why you should do your best to prevent these insects from entering your home.
There are many ways that you can use to get rid of these little pests. Let’s go through some of these methods. One thing you could do is grab some sugar and mix it with water in a jar. Let this mixture sit out until it becomes thick like syrup, then pour the mixture around your house or where the ants are coming from.