Ants are extremely common in homes and yards. Some species of ants are more of an inconvenience than a real threat to you and your family. We coexist with these tiny pests more than we would like to imagine. It is important to get to know them! There are many species of ants, and each has unique characteristics that are worth mentioning. Ant infestations tend to happen fast, and so it is important to understand what you are up against. That being said, some ant facts are quite surprising!
- Ants are ridiculously
Yes, you read that right – Ants are ridiculously strong. They have the capability to carry between 10 and 50 times their own bodyweight! The amount an ant can bring depends upon the species. The Asian weaver ant, for instance, can lift 100 times its own mass.
- Ants don’t have lungs
Due to their little size, ants don’t have the space to accommodate an intricate breathing system such as ours. Instead, they have their own methods of respiration to help transport oxygen around their bodies.
How do ants breathe?
Ants take in oxygen through spiracles which are a series of holes located on the sides of their bodies. The spiracles are linked through a network of tubes that assist distribute the oxygen to almost every cell in their body.
An ant’s movement helps the oxygen to flow through the tubes, with the released co2 leaving through said tubes as well.
- Ants don’t have ears
Unlike other bugs such as rats, ants do not have ears. However, that does not suggest they are deaf.
How do ants hear?
Ants use vibrations to hear, utilizing them when foraging for food or as an alarm signal. Ants utilize the vibrations in the ground to hear by selecting them up in the subgenual organ which lies listed below the knee.
- Some ant types are nonsexual
Instead of going down the standard route of recreation, some Amazonian ants have required to reproduce by means of cloning. It is reported that the queen ants copy themselves to genetically produce daughters, resulting in a colony without any male ants.
- Ants are farmers
You might be thinking “what?!” But it’s true, besides humans, ants are the only creatures that will farm other animals.
Much like we raise cows, sheep, pigs, chicken, and fish in order to obtain a food source, ants will do the same with other pests. The most typical incident of this is with aphids. Ants will secure aphids from natural predators, and shelter them in their nests from heavy rain showers in order to gain a consistent supply of honeydew.
- Ants can swim
Well, not all ants can swim, it depends on the types. They have not mastered the butterfly or breaststroke, yet, but they do have the capability to survive in water by using their own variation of the doggy paddle, and can also drift for extended periods of time.
To put it just, ants are amazing survivors. Not just can they hold their breath undersea for extended periods of time, however, they will likewise build lifeboats to survive floods. It can be especially dangerous when fire ants do this.
- Ants are as old as dinosaurs
A study from Harvard and Florida State Universities discovered that ants first increased throughout the Cretaceous period around 130 million years back! They have actually survived the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T termination) that eliminated the dinosaurs in addition to the glacial epoch.
Ant’s are cool, but that doesn’t mean we want them in our homes. DriveBye Exterminators can help you get control of any ant infestation in your home.
For more information call or contact us today!
