What is useful ants

Very few people like insects. People perceive them as pests and try to get rid of them. If you find out what benefits ants bring to the forest and people, then it becomes clear that these arthropods perform many important functions. They loosen the soil, clean the forest and destroy the caterpillars.

Use in nature

Not just like that ants called the forest orderlies.It accelerates the decomposition of rotten wood, collects dry leaves and branches, cleans plants from caterpillars, mites, sawflies. An insect can harm, but it still performs many useful functions.

Benefits in soil formation

Arthropods loosen the earth better than worms. They dig tunnels at a depth of 70 cm, while the worms do not penetrate into the soil below 20 cm. The soil is mixed and enriched with the following substances:

• humus;
• nitrogen;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• magnesium.

This improves plant growth and development. You may notice that around anthills vegetation is thicker and healthier.

On a note!

Few people know why ants are needed in the forest and in the fields. But their use here is invaluable - they loosen the earth, filling it with air and nutrients.

Around anthills accumulate a lot of excrement, which serve as fertilizer for vegetation.

The benefits of cleansing the forest

The benefits of ants

Cruel stumps become a haven for ants. They build a nest there and accelerate the decomposition of dead wood. Forest ants, during the construction of their home, collect leaves, branches, blade of grass and needles from the surroundings.

Interesting!

In an anthill, the decomposition of grassy and woody particles occurs faster than in air. This is due to the fact that there is a higher temperature and humidity, and a unique microflora with its bacteria and fungi.

Plant benefits

The use of ants in nature is enormous. They spread the seeds in the forest. About 3,000 species of plants are spread by hardworking insects. In this number:

• fragrant violet;
• celandine;
• goose onions;
• crested crest;
• thyme;
• ozhek hairy.

All of these herbs and flowers will not be able to grow without ants, who take down their seeds in the house, losing some of the way.

The following plants are spread exclusively by ants:

• violet;
• hoof hoof;
• Prolesok and other myrmecohore plants.

Some species of ants love to eat sweet pollen and thus can pollinate flowers.

Pest control benefits

Pest control

Arthropods clean the forest from dead insects and pests. It is known that the moths and sawflies destroy plants and thereby cause great damage to the forest. But where there is an anthill, the number of these pests is small.

On a note!

If there are few ants in the forest, the foresters specially inhabit these beneficial insects.One anthill per day is able to clean the surrounding area from 2000 larvae and pupae of various pests.

Link in the food chain

Here, too, there is no anyhow what is the use of ants. Songbirds and some animals hunt bugs:

• badgers;
• foxes;
• grouse;
• the Bears.

Birds love bathing feathers in ants. In this way they get rid of pests. Some scientists believe that the birds are also treated by ants, crushing them under the wings. After all, formic acid benefits the body.

Use in the garden

Ants in the garden

Gardeners are often wondering why we need ants in the area, because insects are bred aphids and increase the acidity of the soil. This adversely affects the plants and slows their development. But at the same time the benefits of black garden ants in the garden there is:

1. In underground tunnels made by workers, the air humidity reaches 90%. Also, the soil in these places is supplied with oxygen and contains saprophytes fungi. Even fastidious plants feel well in these conditions.
2. The garden species of ants destroys slugs, caterpillars, pupae and larvae. In one day, an anthill is able to collect two thousand different pests.
3. The soil, thanks to insects, is enriched with beneficial trace elements. The potassium content is doubled, and phosphorus - 10 times.

Before starting destruction of an anthillit is worth considering whether insects are harmful.

Human benefits

Since ancient times, people use ants as medicine. Insects contain a lot of protein, trace elements and vitamins, and formic acid can help in the treatment of the following diseases:

• rheumatoid arthritis;
• neurosis;
• atrophic arthritis;
• dizziness;
• insomnia;
• hepatitis.

From these arthropods prepare various ointments with a hemostatic effect. And their poison helps fight staphylococcal and streptococcal infections. From time immemorial in the east they have used hardworking insects as a biological weapon against pests. In China, weaver ants help grow citrus trees.

Interesting!

There are places on earth where big ants the edges of wounds are bonded after the operation. Insect jaws connect the edges of the skin, and his body is torn off.

Ants play a great role in South Africa, where insects collect rooibos seeds, which are used to make herbal tea and put them in their nests. A person needs only to “take away” the harvest from the workers.In a day, 150-200 g of seeds can be obtained from one nest.

Before the destruction of arthropods, it is worth remembering what ants are useful for. Often the benefits of them are much more harmful. No one else improves the composition of the soil and does not fight pests.