| Everyone has lived with ants in the house or and the | | | | Ants are extremely successful insects. They make up |
| garden all his or her life. Anywhere people live, ants live | | | | about twenty percent of the total land-based biomass |
| too, except in Antartica and a few islands, but how | | | | and that exceeds the biomass of vertebrates. The |
| much do you really know about them? | | | | majority of ants will eat anything although some |
| Ants evolved from wasps about 120 million years ago | | | | species have specialized. There is a massive variation |
| and afterward, as plant life began to diversify, ants | | | | in size. Some varieties are only three-quarters of a |
| diversified and specialized too. We do not know how | | | | millimetre long whereas others are fifty-two millimetres |
| many varieties of ants there are, but it is estimated | | | | in length, which is two inches long! |
| that there are about 22,000. Of those, 12,500 odd have | | | | Ants have jointed antennae unlike the majority of other |
| been classified, so there is still a lot that we do not | | | | insects and most of them have very poor eyesight, |
| understand about ants. | | | | some are even blind, but certainly not all. Some ants |
| In spite of the large number of species they all have a | | | | have superb vision. They do not respire as we do, but |
| distinctive shape: a node-like formation with a very | | | | gases passes through their exoskeleton (hard external |
| slender, wasp-like waist. Ants are insects and they live | | | | skin) by means of valves. They do not have a heart |
| in colonies from a few dozen to many million individuals. | | | | as such either but they do have nerves. Some ants, |
| The majority of these individuals are sterile female | | | | such as the fire ant, have stings like their ancient |
| workers and soldiers. | | | | ancestors the wasps. |
| There are also a couple of males, called drones, for | | | | Ants come from eggs, but the eggs do not have to be |
| reproduction purposes and one or more fertile, | | | | fertilized: fertilized eggs become female and unfertilized |
| egg-laying queens. There will also be a support group | | | | become male. Ant nurse workers can affect which |
| of reproductive females who can become workers or | | | | caste of ant an egg will create by the kind of food it |
| queens as the colony requires. | | | | gives it. Ant eggs need a constant temperature, so |
| Ants are capable of working together to solve pretty | | | | nurse workers will often move the eggs from |
| complex social or environmental difficulties and they | | | | chamber to chamber to keep it perfect. |
| have been a source of inspiration to human societies | | | | When an ant hatches out, it is given light tasks like |
| for centuries. | | | | tending the queen and the eggs for a few days and |
| Termites are often called 'white ants', but in fact they | | | | then it is moved on to excavating and cleaning the |
| are not at all related to ants. They are more closely | | | | nest. The ants that go out foraging are the older ants. |
| related to cockroaches. The fact that termites and | | | | It is thought that they are given this work because it is |
| ants share a number of traits is attributed to | | | | dangerous and they will more than likely die of natural |
| convergent evolution. | | | | causes soon anyway. |