Ants, called horse ants or spurs in ancient times, are insects with social habits, belonging to Hymenoptera and closely related to wasps. It first appeared in the middle Cretaceous1.300 million-1. 1 100 million years ago, which may have evolved from the original wasp that appeared in Jurassic. The main difference is that the antenna of ants is obviously knee-bent, and there are one or two nodules in the abdomen, while the abdomen of wasps is a whole. Ants generally have no wings, only males and infertile females have wings when mating, and females lose their wings after mating. When flowering plants gradually flourished, the species of ants began to diversify.
This is a common insect, which is easy to identify. Generally, the body is small (0.5mm-3cm), with four colors of black, yellow, red and white, and the body wall is elastic, smooth or hairy. Chewing, the palate is developed. The antenna is knee-shaped, with 4~ 13 nodes, long-handled nodes and 2~3 nodes at the end. The abdomen 1 or 1 and 2 are knotted. Winged or wingless. The front feet are comb-shaped with large spacing, which is a corner cleaner (used to clean tentacles). It is a polymorphic social insect. It is estimated that only about half of ants-there are about 1 1700 species-have been described. More extensive research on ant fauna is needed. There are common domestic ants. Ants are typical social insects, which have three elements of social insects, that is, individuals of the same species can cooperate with each other to take care of their larvae; There is a clear division of labor; At least two generations in the ant colony overlap, and future generations can take care of the previous generation for a period of time.
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Somatotype characteristics
At present, there are 283 genera of 2 1 subfamily (using the main classification system of 16 subfamily, compared with the system of 2 1 subfamily, the new system divides several subfamilies from Formicidae subfamily). Generally small, with four colors of black, brown, yellow and red, the body wall is elastic, smooth or hairy. Chewing, the palate is developed. The antenna is knee-shaped, with 4~ 13 nodes, long-handled nodes and 2~3 nodes at the end. The abdomen 1 or 1 and 2 are knotted. Divided into winged or wingless. The front foot has a large spacing and is comb-shaped. It is a corner cleaner (used to clean tentacles). The shape of ants is divided into three parts: chest and abdomen, and has six legs. Ant eggs are about 0.5 mm long, irregular oval, milky white and worm-like translucent larvae. Worker ants are small, with a body length of about 2.8 mm and a brown body. Through careful observation, it is easy to find an ant. Both male and female ants are bulky. The abdomen is obese, the head and chest are brown, the first half of the abdomen is brown, and the second half is brown. Male ants are about 5.5 mm long. The female ant is about 6.2 mm in length. The common ant in indoor environment is the yellow ant.
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Living habits
Mayi housing
Ants generally nest underground, and the scale of underground nests is very large. There are good drainage and ventilation measures. General worker ants are responsible for nesting. The entrance and exit are mostly a small arched mound with a hole in the middle like a volcano. Secondly, there are ventilation holes. Every room in the nest has a clear classification.
Wet and warm soil is their favorite.
They usually live in arid areas, but it is little known that they can barely survive in water for two weeks.
Ant life span
Ants live a long life. Worker ants can live for a few weeks to 3-7 years, while queens can live for more than ten years or decades, or even more than 50 years. An ant nest can grow in 1 place 1- 10 years.
Species and division of labor of ants
Ants develop into completely mutated forms. All ants live in social groups. Generally speaking, there are four different kinds of ants in a group.
1. Queen ant: The female with reproductive ability, or female ant, or queen ant, is the largest in the colony, especially with large abdomen, developed reproductive organs, short antennae, small chest and feet, wings, wings falling off or no wings. The main responsibility is to lay eggs, breed offspring and manage this big family.
2. Male ant: or father ant. Small head, undeveloped upper jaw and slender tentacles. It has developed reproductive organs and external genitalia, and its main function is to mate with the queen ant.
3. Worker ants: capable ants. Wingless, undeveloped female, usually the smallest individual in the group, but the largest number. The compound eye is very small, and the monocle is very small or not. The maxilla, antennae and three pairs of feet are well developed and good at walking. Worker ants are infertile. The main duties of worker ants are to build and expand nests, collect food and feed larvae and queens.
4. Soldier ant: "Soldier ant" is a common name of some ant species, and it is a female ant without reproductive ability. With a big head and a well-developed upper jaw, it can crush hard food and become a fighting weapon when defending groups.
Ants formed a group, which was also known through marriage and flight. Love at first sight after acquaintance, mating in flight or after flight. The groom won't live long.
The ants died soon after mating, leaving the "widow" queen ant to live a lonely life alone. The queen ant takes off her wings and chooses suitable soil and place to nest underground. She is "fighting alone" and her strength is limited. She can only temporarily build a small room as a place to live, so that her pregnant body has a delivery room. After the eggs in the body mature and produce, the larvae hatch and the queen ant is busy. Every young ant is fed food from her mouth until these young ants grow into adults and can live independently. When the first workers grow up, they dig holes to the outside world to find food, and then expand the building area of their nests to provide housing for more and more family members. From then on, the queen ant who had suffered a lot sat down to enjoy life and became the commander-in-chief of this big family. The work of raising young ants and feeding queens is undertaken by worker ants. But the queen will continue to lay eggs and breed large families. There are many forms of ant nests, most of which nest in underground soil, dig tunnels, secret rooms and houses, and pile up excavated materials and leaves near the entrance to form hills for protection. Some ants use leaves, stems and petioles of plants. Build nests and hang them on trees or rocks. Other ants live in rotten wood in forest areas. More specifically, some ants nest in or near other kinds of ant nests; There is no dispute between the two "families" and they can live in harmony. This kind of ant nest is called mixed ant nest, but it is actually heterogeneous. No matter different ants or ants of the same species, the number of ants in a nest can be very different. The smallest ant colony has only a few dozen or nearly a hundred ants, and some have thousands, while the big ant colony can have tens of thousands or more.
In the broad-leaved forest in the south of China, there is also a kind of jumping-tailed ant. As the name implies, its tail has a pincer that often tilts up, ready to attack. He has a strange temper and often deals with trees. It likes to build a nest the size of a football on the tree with sapropel and old bark chewed from the tree, and then mix it with sticky juice from its mouth. The nest is divided into many layers. Male ants, queen ants and worker ants live in it respectively. Children are born in the nest and become an "independent kingdom". At first, there was a tree and a bird's nest. When the ant colony is too big and a new queen is born, the new queen leads some worker ants to build new homes. Sometimes there will be fierce territorial battles. In order to catch other insects on the tree for food, it can run on the branches and leaves of the crown with slender and powerful feet. If two trees are close together, they can skillfully bite each other's hind feet, hang each other down, drift with the wind and shake them to another tree, forming an "ant cable bridge". In order to connect the road between two trees for a long time, the worker ants who undertake the task of bridging can be changed constantly. All the food on the tree was caught. They got off the tree in droves and rushed to catch small animals on the ground. Once the prey is caught, the jumping-tailed ant will inject anesthetic solution with claw needle to make the prey unconscious, and then pull and pull, even a mantis or earthworm weighing more than 100 times can be easily dragged back to the nest by them.
The feeding habits of ants vary greatly among different subfamilies and different species. Generally, it can be divided into carnivorous, phytophagous and omnivorous. Ants work hard most of the year. So where do they go to feed in the cold winter? How do they spend the winter? It turns out that smart ants are prepared before winter comes. They first carry weed seeds so that they can sow next year; Simultaneous movement
Ants transport aphids, scale insects, horned cicadas and gray butterfly larvae to their nests for the winter, and suck excrement from these insects as food (milk and honey). Why do ants know that winter is coming? From the perspective of modern science, this instinct of ants is controlled by their annual biological clock, in other words, they make good food reserves during the winter according to the operation law of the annual biological clock.
The creatures formed by interaction with ants have reached an amazing level. There are more than 52 families, 465 species of plants, thousands of animals, and a large number of unknown fungi and microorganisms.
Ants are using extraordinary survival strategies-planting fungi, harvesting seeds, grazing honey-producing insects, nesting, cooperative predation, social parasitism and slavery-which greatly stimulated the curiosity of scientists and the public. The secret that ants can live in every corner of the world is that they live in a very organized group. They build nests together so that their eggs and offspring can grow safely in them.
There are different kinds of ants, and each has its own special responsibilities. When the queen lays eggs, most of the eggs will develop into females. They are called worker ants. They are responsible for building and defending nests, taking care of queens, eggs and larvae and looking for food. At a certain time, males and new queens will be born. They have wings and fly out of their nests in groups. After mating, the male ants die, and the new queen ants begin to live the life of another group.
The queen ant is the most important member of the ant colony. It is the only one who can lay eggs. This means that it is the mother of all ants in this group. Worker ants feed it, clean its body and take its eggs to another place to take care of it.
Some Australian ants use their worker ants as a living storage box. When worker ants collect a large amount of nectar, a sweet liquid from flowers, and swallow it into their bodies, and their bodies become swollen, they will hang themselves from the ceiling of their nests until other ants need to eat the nectar stored in their bodies.
The soldier ants are foraging in the woodland. In order to find food, they sometimes line up in woodland. They are always hungry, so they will attack almost anything, sometimes even large mammals.
Different ants eat different foods. Harvest ants eat seeds. They collect seeds in the cellar. Leaf-cutting ants eat mushrooms. They take leaves underground to cultivate mushrooms. Some ants store insects called aphids, and they extract a sugary substance from aphids as food, which is very similar to the way humans milk cows.
According to scientists' research, ants lack sugar in caves, which is very unfavorable for their growth and development. In order to find enough sugar, once ants find something sweet, their tentacles will harden independently, which is the nature of ants.
Ants are very social insects and communicate with each other through pheromones emitted by their bodies. When ants find food, they will spread pheromones on the food, and other ants will instinctively drag things with pheromones back to their holes.
When an ant dies, its pheromone still exists. When other ants pass by, they will be attracted by pheromones, but dead ants will not communicate with each other (touch their tentacles) like live ants, so their bodies with pheromones will be taken back by their companions as food.
Usually, such corpses are not eaten as food, because apart from pheromones, each nest of ants has its own specific smell, and things with the same smell will not be attacked, which is the basis for good cooperation with ants in the same nest.
In the process of marching, ants secrete a pheromone to guide the ants behind them to take the same route. If we cross the ant's marching team with our hands and interfere with the pheromones of ants, ants will lose their sense of direction and crawl around. So let's not disturb them casually.
Microscopic photos of ants
Ants are typical social insects, which have three elements of social insects, that is, individuals of the same species can cooperate with each other to take care of their larvae; Have a clear division of labor system; And future generations can take care of the previous generation for a while.
In addition, it should be pointed out that "termites" are not ants, and termites are very different from ants in physiological structure except for their different social life habits.
Biological behavior refers to the adaptive activities that organisms can perceive from the outside. Behaviorism is the study of these activities. Morphology and behavior were first noticed by people, but it was not until the19th century that people obtained the theoretical weapons and experimental means for the study of biological behavior. The theory of evolution has raised the behavior of animals to an adaptive level.
At present, the classification of biological behavior is very confusing. From the perspective of heredity and development, it is generally divided into innate behavior and acquired behavior, namely instinctive behavior and learning behavior. However, this classification method is not commonly used. People generally classify behaviors according to their functions. Unfortunately, this classification method is not strict, and there are a lot of overlapping areas.
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distribution range
Ants are the most common insects on the earth and the largest number of insect species. Because all kinds of ants are social groups, they were called "ants" in ancient times. According to modern morphological classification, ants belong to bees.
Ants can survive anywhere with their living conditions, and they are the most resistant creatures to natural disasters in the world. It is a polymorphic social insect. It is estimated that there are only about half of the ants-about 1 1700 species at present. More extensive research on ant fauna is needed. There are more than 600 kinds of ants in China. Ants belong to Arthropoda, Insecta, Hymenoptera and Formicidae. At present, there are three common ants in Chinese rooms: yellow ant, big-headed ant and Rochelle ant.
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Species introduction
queen ant
Reproductive female ants, or female ants, are the largest in the colony, especially with large abdomen, developed reproductive organs, short antennae, small chest and feet, winged, wingless or wingless (mostly wingless). The main responsibility is to lay eggs, reproduce and rule this big family.
Male ant
Ants responsible for mating with queens. It develops from unfertilized eggs, has wings, and dies shortly after mating.
worker (ant)
Responsible for searching for food and taking care of ant eggs. Smaller than a soldier ant
soldier ant
Ants that are responsible for fighting against foreign ants or fighting wars are particularly large.
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breeding method
Artificial nest changing method
1. Dark method:
Principle-Take advantage of the characteristics that ants like to hide and live in the dark. First, connect the original nest with the target nest to keep the target nest dark and the original nest bright. After a certain period of time, they will move their families to the lair of the dark target.
Method-First create a suitable living condition for the ants in the target nest, then connect it with the original nest by pipes or other means, then cover the target nest with books or cloth, and then you can disturb the ants in the original nest in a certain way, so that they can find the target nest faster and move out of the original nest, of course, without disturbing. They can move there in about 1~24 hours, even the eggs will move there. Different varieties move at different speeds under different conditions. After moving, you can move the original nest in time.
Tips and attention-this method is the simplest and most convenient, and it is also commonly used. It is suitable for most ant species, especially small ant colony with many eggs. This method is the most suitable.
2. Temperature difference method:
Principle-Use extreme temperature conditions to force ants to move. First, connect the original nest with the target nest. The target nest keeps the temperature conditions that ants like, and the original nest keeps low temperature or high temperature. After a certain period of time, they will move their families to a comfortable target nest.
Methods-First, create conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.). ) suitable for ants to live in, and then connect with the original nest through pipes or other means, and then cool the original nest (by using ice cubes or putting it in the refrigerator, etc.). ) or high temperature (with hot water bottles, etc. By creating these temperature conditions that they don't like, they will move to the target nest with suitable temperature conditions within a certain period of time. After moving, you can move the original nest in time. You're done!
Tips and precautions-This method is easy for ants to move completely, and it is suitable for all ants regardless of the size of the community. It is also easy for them to move all their eggs, but the operation is a bit troublesome.
3. Drying method:
Principle-Use extreme humidity conditions to force ants to move. First of all, the original nest and the target nest are connected with each other, and the target nest keeps the humidity conditions that ants like, while the original nest keeps dry without adding water and will move to the target nest in a certain period of time.
Methods-First, create conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.). ) suitable for ants to live in, and then connect it with the original nest by pipes or other means, and then let the original nest dry slowly and naturally without adding water, or take some measures to accelerate the drying. Ants can't stand being dry, so they will move to a more comfortable new home.
Tips and precautions-this method is suitable for ants who are not in a hurry to act immediately. A major drawback is that it takes a long time. But it is suitable for most ants, and the operation is very simple.
4. Freezing method:
Principle-Let ants temporarily lose their mobility and move manually through low humidity freezing measures.
Methods-First, create conditions (temperature, humidity, etc. ) suitable for ants to live in, and then open and prepare. Then, put the original nests in the refrigerator for a few minutes, and the temperature should not be too low, so that they are basically motionless for several degrees. Then, quickly open the nest, transfer the frozen ants to the target nest, clamp them with tweezers or catch them directly. If there are eggs, you can dial them with a brush, then cover the target nest to let the sleepy ants wake up slowly.
Tips and precautions-this method is suitable for ants with small populations and large bodies, and it is a bit troublesome to operate, especially if there are many eggs.
5. Violence Law:
Principle-Catch ants directly by hand and put them in the target nest.
Method-First, pour the ants in the original nest into a relatively open container. Of course, this container should be taken to prevent escape (usually put some powder on it), and then grab it directly by hand and put it into the target nest. Of course, if you are afraid, you'd better wear gloves (disposable rubber gloves are also acceptable) and catch them one by one until you catch them.
Tips and precautions-This method is suitable for small and large ants in the community. The operation is very simple and one of the most commonly used methods.
Feeding of ants
I. Feeding habits
If you know what ants like to eat and what nutrients they need, you can feed them, give them enough nutrition and increase the yield of the queen!
The feeding habits of ants are simply divided into the following items:
Meat, omnivorous meat, omnivorous vegetarian, vegetarian.
1. Meat
It is best to feed on insects. ............................................................................................................................................... ........................ should prepare the kind of insects that ants like to eat, otherwise it will often lead to the mistake that ants don't eat or starve to death because they are given enough food, so if they can't prepare the food that ants like, they will be very depressed to raise.
2. Omnivores prefer meat
The proportion of omnivorous and carnivorous ants is high. They can also be vegetarian or eat meat. However, eating meat is usually more attractive to them, and they are almost picky about insects. Generally speaking, they are open to everyone. When feeding, not only insects can be used as food, but also animals can get food from protein. Examples of available foods are as follows:
Carnivorous and dead insects are the main foods, plus fruits and honeydew. When feeding, you can feed insects, fish (which can be eaten raw), cooked pork, cooked chicken and so on.
3. omnivores are vegetarians
There are many overlaps between omnivorous and vegetarian ants and omnivorous and carnivorous ants. The only difference is that when insect carcasses and sweets appear at the same time, omnivorous and vegetarian ants are more attracted to sweets.
abstain from eating meat
Vegan ant species account for a small proportion of all ant species, and some ants only eat some special plants or juices. For example, foreign leaf-cutting ants bring leaves back to their nests to plant fungi, and take fungi as their only food. So raising this kind of ants is just like raising pure carnivorous ants. First of all, make sure you can prepare food, otherwise you will be very depressed.
Two. appetite
The key point is "don't overeat", especially those ants who carry as much food as possible and then enjoy it slowly in their nests. If overfeeded, it will easily lead to the food in the nest to expire, mildew and corruption, and it is easier to attract insects mainly scavengers to live, which is harmful to the appearance when breeding in the nest. If there are too many insects, it may endanger the safety of ant larvae! In addition, if the food source is live insects, then it is possible to grow parasites or mites that have previously laid eggs on the food, and the mites will multiply in the nest like a plague and adsorb on every ant and larva. Parasitic ants are likely to be covered by many kinds of mites at the same time, and usually don't live long! This has also caused a fatal crisis in the whole community!
Breeding equipment and harvesting and processing
First, the site selection should be determined according to the size of aquaculture. Whether indoors or outdoors, there should be enough light, no debris accumulation and no odor.
Two, the breeding facilities around the site with bricks (or plastic film). Build a sink with a width of 25 cm and a depth of 5 cm. The inner edge of the sink should keep a certain inclination, which can effectively prevent seed ants from falling into the water. When building a sink, drainage holes should be left for changing water. Scaffolding should be carried out at a distance of 20-25 cm from the inner edge of the water tank, and the material can be bamboo poles or wooden sticks arranged side by side in a railing manner. The first layer of scaffolding is more than 30cm from the ground, and the shelf spacing is more than 35cm. Put humus sand with the thickness of 10- 15cm at the bottom of the shelf.
Third, the production and placement of food boxes homemade food boxes generally contain food, and the paper boxes and specifications of clothing are generally 35-40 cm long, 20-25 cm wide and 10- 15 cm high. In the box, the ant's favorite nest is Pinus massoniana, followed by leguminous plant straws such as adzuki bean, soybean and broad bean, and wild plants such as Cinnamomum camphora, Cinnamomum camphora and old grass, all of which need to be dried to prevent mildew. The handle of the straw should be tight, not too tight or too loose. This is very important. Ants will not differentiate into nests on moldy or moldy stems. Put the stem and the ants in the nest together in the box, seal it with tape, and drill a small hole at one end of the box. The arrangement spacing of ant boxes should not be less than 60 cm. If the distance is too close, ants can easily fight with each other.
Fourth, there are many kinds of food for raising and managing ants, and all sweets and animal foods like to eat. Can be divided into two categories: first, animal feed: such as cattle, sheep, fish, pigs, chickens and other meat residue and thick blood. Various insects are also good food for ants, such as ground beetle, fly maggot, silkworm chrysalis, earthworm, etc. B, with sweets such as brown sugar, watermelon, honey, pear core, apple core, etc.
The food intake of ants is very small, each ant is 0. 1 mg per day, 1 10,000 ants need about100g food per day, and they are usually fed once every 3-5 days. When feeding, you need to put a food basin and a sponge block to absorb water at the top of the feeding box. In order to prevent food from going bad, you should basically master the principle of eating every time, and you should be diligent in feeding and cleaning. Feed as little as possible to avoid fighting with each other. In addition, the types of food should be changed frequently to avoid ants anorexia. If it is cultivated outdoors, in order to avoid the high temperature of the ant box in hot summer, some vines should be planted around the box frame to block the strong sunlight. The optimum temperature for the growth and reproduction of ants is 22℃-37℃, the air humidity must be controlled at about 865,438+0%, and the soil humidity should be kept at 65,438+00-65,438+05%. If the air is too dry, you can often spray the ant box and the ground with a sprayer to keep the normal activities and reproduction of ants. [ 1]
Verb (abbreviation of verb) Ant collection and processing
Harvest:
The harvest of artificially raised ants is mainly food lure. Decide which nest to pick (the number must be large). Let the nest be hungry for 3-5 days, and at least 80% of the ants in the whole colony are hungry. Then use a woven bag to put the food that ants like to eat in the bag and tie it with a small bamboo stick. Because ants are hungry, they will soon enter the woven bag. When the number of baits is almost the same, take off the woven bag and put in 55 baits.
Handling:
Pour the killed ants into the weir, pick out impurities and dry the ants as soon as possible. The water content should not exceed 8%, so as to maintain a long storage period and ensure the quality of commercial ants.
Never fry, cook or sprinkle pesticides when killing ants. The standard of finished products should be no mildew, no pesticide pollution, complete limbs and correct processing methods. Generally, finished products can be packed in woven bags with plastic film inside, and it is forbidden to use bagged pesticides and fertilizers.