The males exist just to mate with the queen ants and die soon after. How new princesses are made though has always been somewhat of a mystery. Until now. American researchers have found that some pupae are born with a particular gene, insulin-like peptide 2 ILP2 , expressed a lot, while others are born with it barely expressed at all. This causes some pupae to have more of the insulin-like protein in their bodies which functions much like normal insulin, to allow glucose to be absorbed from the blood , and thus absorb more nutrients.
While in their larval form, all pupae are actually sent signals to suppress ILP2. Hatchling larvae are fed and cleaned, and pupated larvae in cocoons are protected until the young adults emerge to become workers themselves. Depending upon the ant species, it may take from one to several years for a colony to become large enough for the queen to begin producing virgin queens and males that will leave the colony, swarm, mate and begin a new colony in another location.
This process and behavior is typical of most ant colonies. However, some ant species reproduce and develop new colonies with several queens who work together.
Sometimes, groups of workers swarm from the nest with a young queen to help her establish her new nest. In colonies with several already fertile queens, an entire group of ants will break away along with their with their individual queens to establish individual colonies. In single queen colonies, such as those of some fire ants , the death of the queen means the death of the colony, as she leaves no successors.
Colonies with multiple queens may also reproduce by a process called colony budding. Ants that reproduce by budding do not have mating swarms. Budding occurs when one or more fertile queens and a group of workers leave an established nest and move to a new nest site. The respective roles of queen and workers remain the same in the budded colony since the workers assist in the establishment and care of the new, budded colony. Pharaoh ants, some fire ants, ghost ants and Argentine ants, some of the most difficult ant species to control, spread by budding.
Interestingly, Pharaoh ant workers by themselves can form a successful budded colony by developing and caring for the queens that are produced from the ant brood they brought along with them. Could these be a type of termite, and if so, what is the best way to kill them? Find additional information on carpenter ants at the official NPMA website.
This ant gets its name from the strong, rotten coconut-like smells it gives off when crushed and the fact that they commonly nest in or around houses. Native to the United States, these ants are very social, living in colonies of up to , members.
Typically living for several years, these ants commonly make their homes in exposed soil, under stones, logs, mulch, debris and other items. They will also nest in wall and floor cracks. Odorous house ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind. Find more educational materials for use in your classroom, including a profile on odorous house ants , at the official NPMA website.
Although these ants can live inside, they get their name because they make their nests in or under cracks in pavement. They are typically found in the eastern half of the United States, California and Washington. Pavement ant colonies average 3, to 4, members and have several queens. These ants will eat almost anything, including insects, grease, seeds, honeydew, honey, bread, meats, nuts and cheese.
This ant gets its name because it most commonly nests in soil next to and beneath slabs, sidewalks, patios, and driveways. Pavement ants do not pose a health threat, but they can contaminate food by leaving waste behind.
Find more information on pavement ants to share with the kids in your classroom at the official NPMA website. Red imported fire ants RIFA, for short are more aggressive than other ant species and have a painful sting. These ants and their telltale mound nests should be actively avoided. Red imported fire ants can adapt to many climates and conditions in and around their environment. For example, if the colony senses increased water levels in their nests, they will come together and form a huge ball or raft that is able to float on the water!
They occasionally enter buildings through holes or cracks in walls and foundations. The sting of a red imported fire ant is painful and often results in a raised welt that becomes a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely. They are frustrating, not only because of the physical pain they can inflict, but because their mound-building activity can damage plant roots and lead to loss of crops.
Teachers can find additional information on red imported fire ants to share with students at the official NPMA website. Ants Did you know? An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight.
Ant Facts for Kids There are more than 12, species of ants all over the world. If a second grader was as strong as an ant, she would be able to pick up a car! Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies! Once underground, the queens will not eat for weeks — until they have produced their own daughter workers. They use energy from their fat stores and redundant flight muscles to lay their first batch of eggs, which they fertilise using sperm stored from their nuptial flight.
It is the same stock of sperm acquired from long dead males that allows a queen to continue laying fertilised eggs for her entire life. Queens never mate again. Sometimes two L. This initially cooperative association — which increases the chance of establishing a colony — dissolves once new adult workers emerge and then the queens fight to the death. More sinister still, L. Slave-making has evolved in a number of ant species, but they also display cooperation at extraordinary levels.
In the laboratory, L. Workers live for about a year, males little more than a week although their sperm live longer. These extraordinary differences in longevity are purely due to the way their genes are switched on and off.
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