Interesting facts about ants and ant colonies - the secret of their single superorganism

Underground lair where ants live, eat and herd eggs

"Anthill" redirects here. For a novel by E. O. Wilson, see Anthill: A Novel.

Anthill plaster cast. Anthill and ant tracks, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park, New South Wales

An ant colony

it is the basic unit around which ants organize their life cycle.[1] Ant colonies are eusocial, and are very similar to those found in other social Hymenoptera, although different groups of these individuals independently convergent evolution.[2] A typical colony consists of one or more egg-laying queens, numerous sterile females (workers, soldiers) and, depending on the season, many winged sexual males and females.[3] To create new colonies, ants fly at specific times of the day for their species.[4] Flocks of winged sexuals (known as alates) leave the nest in search of other nests.[5] The males die soon after, along with most of the females.[6] A small percentage of females survive and start new nests.[1]

Names

The term "ant colony" refers to collections of workers, reproductives and broods that live together, cooperate and are non-aggressive towards each other. These are often genetically related offspring from the same queen, although this is not universal among ants.[1] The name "anthill" is usually given to ant nests that are contained in formicariums; These formicaria are formed so that scientists can study them by growing or temporarily storing them.[7][8] Another name is "ant", which comes from the Medieval Latin word formīcārium

.
The word also comes from Formica
.[9] Ant nests are the physical spaces in which ants live. They can be found underground, in trees, under rocks, or even inside a single acorn.[1] The name "anthill" refers to underground nests where workers pile sand or soil at the entrance to form a large mound.[10]

Colony size

Colony size (the number of individuals that make up a colony) is very important to ants: it can affect how they feed, how they defend their nests, how they mate, and even their appearance. Body size is often considered the most important factor in shaping the natural history of non-colonial organisms; Likewise, colony size is a key factor influencing the collective organization of colonial organisms.[11][1] However, colony sizes vary greatly between ant species: some are just a few ants living in a branch, while others are supercolonies with millions of workers. Even if you look at a single ant colony, seasonal variations can be huge. For example, in the anthill Dolichoderus mariae

a single colony can go from about 300 workers in the summer to over 2,000 workers per queen in the winter.[12]
Genetic and environmental factors can cause even greater dispersion between colonies of the same species. When zooming out further within a related group of different ant species, the differences can be enormous: Formica yessensis
has colony sizes reported to be 306 million workers, while
Formica fusca
colonies sometimes number as few as 500 workers.[11]

Insect interaction - ant communication

We humans interact through speech, gestures, and facial expressions, but ants do not have this opportunity. They communicate in various ways, the simplest of which is tropholaxis - food exchange . Foraging ants (they are called foragers) bring a certain amount of food to the anthill. Each ant takes the required amount of food for itself, and then passes it on to the other ants. But this method of communication is not suitable for interspecies communication. Another way of communication is through smell. Each ant has its own smell, which is unique. In addition, each ant family has its own shades, which makes it possible to determine the entry of a stranger by smell. And finally, ants communicate using pheromones. They use them mainly to indicate the location of food or to warn of danger (anxiety pheromone).

Ant and a drop of water

City of Ants | Documentary

Supercolonies

A supercolony occurs when many ant colonies come together over a large area. They still continue to recognize genetic differences in order to mate, but different colonies within the supercolony avoid aggression.[13] Until 2000, the largest known ant supercolony was located on the Ishikari coast of Hokkaido, Japan. The colony contained 306 million worker ants and one million queen ants living in 45,000 nests connected by underground passages over an area of 2.7 km2 (670 acres).[14] In 2000, a huge supercolony of Argentine ants was found in southern Europe (report published in 2002). Of 33 ant populations tested over 6,004 kilometers (3,731 miles) along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Southern Europe, 30 belonged to one supercolony with millions of nests and billions of workers, as well as three populations from another supercolony.[15] The researchers argue that this case of monocoloniality cannot be explained by the loss of their genetic diversity due to a genetic bottleneck of imported ants.[15] In 2009, it was demonstrated that the largest Japanese, Californian and European Argentine ant supercolonies were in fact part of a single global "megacolony".[16] This intercontinental megacolony represents the most populous recorded community of non-human animals on Earth.

Another supercolony, about 100 km wide, was discovered below Melbourne, Australia in 2004.[17]

How is the inside of an anthill arranged, what is its structure?

Sectional diagram of the structure of an anthill with the designation of functional chambers.
Structure of an ant colony. Most often, dome-shaped anthills are found, but sometimes ants prefer to settle in rotten tree trunks or large old stumps. In regions with extremely hot climates (for example, deserts), insects build their homes exclusively underground.

The inside of an anthill looks different, but the structure of the allocation and organization of specialized chambers is characteristic of any nest of ants.

Indoor cameras can be divided into the following categories:

“ solarium ” - a small chamber under the very dome of the anthill, insects bask in it in the warm season;
“ wintering chamber ” - located below the soil level, in which the ants survive the cold, plunging into suspended animation;
“royal chamber” or “ queen’s room ” - here is the queen who lays eggs;
“grain barn” or “ granary ” - intended for storing grass and tree seeds;
“kindergarten” or “ nursery ” - chambers in which eggs mature and ant larvae are born;
“meat pantry” or “ refrigerator ” - they store the corpses of insects, worms and caterpillars.
“cow barn” - where ants contain and raise aphids.
" graveyard " is a place where waste and deceased individuals are found. It is significantly removed from the anthill, since the ants understand that corpses and waste are a source of disease and infection;

Each sexually mature insect has a clear idea of the location of the chambers. An increase in the anthill leads to the expansion of existing chambers and the construction of new premises.

The depth of the anthill underground can reach up to 2 meters and has an organized complex structure. And the above-ground part can be from 30 cm to 2 m high. All this looks like a huge city.

The depth and structure of an ordinary anthill are amazing. The insides of this amazing structure consist of large fragments of branches. Between them there are many galleries leading to individual chambers, which is a rather complex device.

The height of the structure varies from 30 cm to 2 m, the underground part most often exceeds the above-ground area. The outer covering consists of small twigs, pine needles, grains of sand and reliably protects ants from dampness, wind and cold. The structure of the underground anthill of the garden ant is similar to the forest one, but on the surface it is only a small sandy mound.

Here are a few photos of what a large forest anthill looks like:

The underground part, as a rule, is comparable, and often exceeds the above-ground part in size. In places where there are large reserves of resources for ants (water, cereals, insects of other species), dwellings can reach gigantic sizes. In some cases, the population of a colony can exceed, imagine, 1.5 million individuals.

The anthill is arranged in an interesting way: up to a third of the working ants continuously move needles and branches! Why are they doing this?

The anthill is designed in such a way that a positive temperature (26-29 degrees Celsius) is constantly maintained inside, which is very important for ants. For this purpose, pine needles and branches from the lower layer of coating are transferred to the surface, ventilated and dried. This process is continuous, and approximately a third of the worker ants participate in it. Thanks to their efforts, favorable conditions are created for the development of larvae and the preservation of food supplies.

Organizational terminology

The following terminology is commonly used among myrmecologists to describe the behaviors exhibited by ants in founding and organizing colonies:[1]:p. 209

Monogamy The foundation of an ant colony under a single oviposition. Polygyny Creation of an ant colony under several oviparous queens. Oligogyny The establishment of a polygynous colony in which several clutch queens remain far apart from each other in the nest. Haplometrosis Founding of a colony by a single queen. Pleometrosis Establishment of a colony by several queens. Monodomy Creation of a colony on a single nesting site. Polydomy Creation of a colony in several nesting sites.

Two thousand heads are better than one

Each ant has a tiny brain. But all the ants in the colony are quite smart. Ant superorganisms can solve complex problems by processing information in groups. For example, a colony may compare potential nest sites before collectively selecting the best one. A single insect is not able to “weigh” a large number of options and may make a mistake.

Colony structure

Ant colonies have a complex hierarchical social structure. The work of ants is determined and may vary by age. As the ants get older, their work moves them further away from the queen or the center of the colony. Young ants work in the nest, protecting the queen and young. Sometimes there is no queen and she is replaced by oviparous workers. These worker ants can only lay haploid eggs, producing infertile offspring.[18] Despite the title of queen, she does not delegate tasks to the worker ants; however, ants choose their tasks based on personal preferences.[3]As a colony, ants also operate as a collective “superintelligence.” Ants can compare areas and solve complex problems using the information gained by each member of the colony to find the best nesting site or find food.[3] Some socially parasitic ant species, known as slave ants, raid and steal larvae from neighboring colonies.[19]

How does an ant colony work?

The social hierarchy within an ant colony is often compared to the structure of a bee hive. These two species are similar in many ways, but the behavior of ants is still much more complex. Just like in human society, these insects have a strict division into classes. The anthill is designed in such a way that each mature individual has its own purpose.

Depending on a set of certain qualities, each insect is assigned to one or another social post. In this case, the personal qualities of the individual are taken into account - excessive aggressiveness, keen sense of smell, reaction speed. The hierarchy of any anthill contains the following categories of individuals:

invaders - the most aggressive group in the anthill, attacks neighboring colonies and seizes territories;
orderlies - isolate sick and wounded ants, if necessary, play the role of surgeons - the damaged limb is often amputated (gnawed off);
builders are one of the largest social groups. They are engaged in repairs of premises and the external covering of the home. Throughout their life, they dig new tunnels, transport needles and twigs, and maintain the microclimate inside the anthill;
nannies - take care of the offspring, from the appearance of the egg to the adulthood of the individual. They are constantly near the larvae, turn them over, control the process of hatching from eggs and feed the growing offspring;
guards - are engaged in guarding the entrances and exits of the anthill; in the event of an attack, they attack the enemy and do not allow him to get inside the dwelling. Among this category there are the most losses; attacks on neighbors are common for neighboring colonies. In addition, birds and some animals like to feast on ants, and the guards never leave their posts, protecting the entrance to the last.
foragers . The largest group in the colony. Their mission is to obtain food for the entire anthill. Every day, miners go in search of food - grass seeds, dead and weakened insects, fruits and berries. If one ant finds a large insect (caterpillar, beetle), then with the help of special signals it communicates with its fellow tribesmen, “telling” about the prey. With their combined efforts, insects can even drag a dead rodent. Attacks often occur on weakened or wounded bees, worms, and mice. From numerous bites, the victim dies and becomes food for the colony;
shepherds . Another amazing feature of these insects is that they have peculiar pets. Herbal aphids feed on plants, and the liquid released in the process - honeydew - is collected by ants. This liquid is a waste product of aphids, has a sweetish taste and serves as a kind of delicacy for insects. The carbohydrates contained in honeydew provide the ants with energy. Therefore, aphids are collected into peculiar “herds” and protected in every possible way (for example, from theft by ants from neighboring colonies). To increase the amount of honeydew, shepherds tickle the bellies of their cows, stimulating the production of the valuable substance;
carriers - work together with shepherds, their main task is to carry honeydew into special chambers. If necessary, engage in battle with the invaders;
storekeepers - responsible for maintaining supplies inside the cells. They monitor the maintenance of temperature conditions and the safety of supplies. The life of the colony during the winter months depends on them, since proper conservation of food resources ensures the prosperity of the anthill;

Depending on the habitat, special “professions” appear. For example, leaf-cutter ants living in forests collect leaves from certain trees and plants. Afterwards they are transferred to the anthill, twisted in a special way and used to grow mushrooms, which are one of the main products in their diet.

Interesting fact: in some species, the profession is genetically predetermined, which is reflected in the structure of the ant’s body. And in other species, the profession is acquired by individuals gradually and they are able to replace each other’s functions if necessary.

Excavation

Anthill art is becoming increasingly popular. It involves pouring molten metal (usually non-toxic zinc or aluminum), plaster or cement onto the mound of an ant colony, acting like a mold, and once solidified, excavating the resulting structure.[20] In some cases, this requires a lot of digging.[21] Castings are often used for research and educational purposes, but many are simply donated or sold to natural history museums or sold as folk art or souvenirs. Typically, hills are chosen after the ants have left the ground to avoid killing the ants; however, in the southeastern United States, invasive fire ants have become an active colony and this is a new way to eliminate them.[ citation needed

]

Anthills

Ant farms

Other ants are farmers leading a peaceful lifestyle. For example, leaf-cutter ants collect plants to plant special nutritious mushrooms inside their nests. Some ants resemble ranchers in their lifestyle. They keep herds of insects that suck plant sap (such as aphids) like livestock, and feed on the sweet syrup that their bodies produce when processing plant sap. Thus, ants, like people, are engaged in agriculture and raising livestock.

Recommendations

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