When you stop to think about it, there are literally millions and perhaps billions of different types and species of insects out there. Some are far more fascinating than others. However, today we would like to take a deeper look into some interesting and amazing facts concerning ants. You might learn something new, or be reminded of their awesome powers. In any case, ants are definitely an insect worth taking a closer look at.
Fun & Amazing Random Facts About Ants
1. Ants have super power strength. Being able to carry 50 times their weight, ants can make body builders feel tiny. Of course being relative to their size, ants muscles are thicker and larger than most animals. If our muscles were proportioned to our bodies the way ants are, we would be able to hoist a Hyundai vehicle over our heads and carry it with ease.
2. Soldier ants unify their heads together to plug up the entry way to their nest to protect their home. In some species, the soldier ants have modified heads. Their nest entrance is designed to match the shape of their heads. To help provide a block to the entrance, they set up point and rest with their heads towards the opening to keep intruders out. Worker ants, when they return with their haul, will simply touch their faces to let them know the belong to that colony, and the soldier ants allow them entry.
3. Ant plants or myrmecophytes, barter for their homes and food. Living in natural cavities in the plant’s stems, thorns or even leaf petioles, they eat the natural sugar secretion of the plant. In exchange for food and lodging, the ants protect the plant from plant eating critters and will even help prune away infected limbs. Ants will also protect the plant from any other parasitic plant trying to make their home a new host.
4. To give you a rough estimate to how many ants are roaming the globe, there are about 1.5 million ants to every one human on earth. Thank goodness they are so tiny! There are over 12,000 known species of ants. Most live in tropical regions and are found in the Amazon forest. There are no known ant species living in Antarctica.
5. Where some ants have the motherly insect to nurture and adopt other insects, some species will enslave other ants or insects to their labor. In a long and vigorous cycle, some species will destroy the queen of other species to make their colony stronger and to ensure they have more workers to make their colonies grow and be solid.
6. Ants are as old as dinosaurs. Ants have evolved since the Cretaceous period over 130 million years ago. Fossilized insects have come to be known by scientists as surviving the ages in lumps of ancient amber or fossilized plant resin.
7. Ants are the authority on farming. Being as they have been known to farm far longer than humans. Ants began their agricultural undertaking about 50 million years ago in fungus farming. The earliest evidence suggests ants began farming as early as 70 million years ago, in the early Tertiary period. If you want to get any even more unbelievable fact, these ants used sophisticated horticultural techniques and methods to enhance their crop income. By doing so they secreted chemicals with antibiotic properties to inhibit mold growth, and devised fertilization protocols using manure.
8. Ants follow pheromone trails to gather food. The scouts go searching for food. When the food is found they will take a celebratory nibble and follow the trail back to the nest, laying a heavier scent. The other ants then follow the scent to the edible delight and bring the bounty home.
9. Ants will die to protect the queen and their ant hill.
Ant Pest Inspections, Prevention, Control & Removal in Cushing, Muskogee, Tahlequah, Okmulgee, Wilburton, Eufaula, McAlester, Broken Arrow, Glenpool & Tulsa OK | Fort Worth, Midlothian & Duncanville, TX
Ants may be awesome at a distance but you don’t want them in your own home or business. Some types of household ants carry bacteria and can contaminate food. Pharoah ants are a huge problem in hospitals and nursing homes as they can contaminate patient’s wounds. Carpenter ants can cause extensive damage to homes and other species such as fire ants are very aggressive and will eagerly bite and sting unprovoked. We at Pied Piper Services have the expertise and top quality methods and techniques to help you stop and remove ants and other pests that are trying to get into your home. Call us today!