Ants: Social Insects

5 Ants: Social Insects Ants are small and fascinating insects. Spend some time observing how ants organize their societies, and you'll agree that they can teach us a thing or two. They've existed for at least 100 million years. You can find them every where except very cold regions. There are more than 20, 000 species in the ant family. Physically, ants are divided into three main sections: head, trunk and rear. They have antennae on their heads for touch, smell, taste and hearing. Their jaws open like scissors and are very strong. Ants breathe through holes in their bodies. Their bodies are covered in a tough armour- like material for protection. As with all insects, ants have six strong legs that allow them to run at high speeds. Some ants can carry 50 times their body weight.

Ants are small social insects. They live in organized communities called colonies. In a colony, there are worker ants, which cannot produce offspring, and queen ants, which lay eggs. Ants live for about two months. They go through four stages of life: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. They build homes and store food for rainy days. They never seem to stop working. Above all, they take care of each other. Everything works without much supervision. Worker ants have specific jobs. Some find food. Others look after the younger ants. Some workers defend the nest, while others are responsible for keeping the nest tidy. Ants in a community recognize each other using touch and smell. When they meet, they put their antennae together as a way of recognizing and greeting each other. Everything, especially food, is shared in the colony. When ants find a really rich source of food, they leave a scent trail so that other workers will find it too. The way ants regulate traffic on a busy food trail demonstrates their intelligence. Ants heading out to gather food are light and can travel fast. But those returning are carrying a heavy load and slow. This would create a traffic jam, but ants have a solution. They divide the trail into lanes. The fast-moving ants use two outside lanes while the slow-moving ants use the centre lane. Observe an ant colony if you want to see a well-organized community in action.