The biggest ants in the world
Content
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- Species of big ants
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- Representatives of the genus Paraponera
Ants on earth are the most numerous insects. They occupy from 20 to 30% of living beings on earth. There are many kinds of them - about 12,000. Among this number there are individuals that reach large sizes. A person who has not thought about it does not even suggest how huge they are. There are several types of these insects. Consider which is the biggest ant in the world.
Family
The community of these representatives of the fauna is highly organized. The family includes brood, which in turn consists of eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult individuals (males and females).Among them are individuals who are called workers. These include barren females, soldiers, and other groups of ants. Family sizes include dozens of individuals to the colony. Practically in each of them there are males and several females (queens or queen) capable of reproduction. All members of a large family are hardworking and life of ants subject to strict community laws.
Kinds
Some of the biggest ants live in Africa. They belong to the genus Formicidae, subfamily - Dinoponera Roger. For the first time they were discovered in the 30s of the last century. The length of this species of ants is from 30 mm. Their colony stretches to several kilometers and has millions of insects. Also refer to the most dangerous ants in the world. Later large ants of such species of the genus Camponotus were discovered:
- Giga. Body length uterus it is about 31 mm, in soldiers it is equal to 28 mm, in working-type individuals - 22 mm. Its color is black, the paws are colored in yellow tones, brown and red shades are characteristic for the back. Their habitat is Asia.
Interesting!
Families fight among themselves, defending their territory. The insects who lost the battle are leaving her.
- Vagus.This type is smaller. The length of the calf reaches 12 mm, in the female it is about 16 mm. These ants can be found on the territory of Russia (the Urals). There is only one uterus in the family. As soon as the offspring appears, it independently organizes the nest. The female prefers to choose among rotten stumps, stones, dried trees.
- Herculeanus. Another kind of ant relatives. In the uterus and the soldiers, the length reaches 20 mm, the individuals of the workers are 15 mm, and only 11 cm it is in the males. They choose forest lanes located in Northern Asia and America, Europe and Siberia as their place of residence. Ants decorate nests in the trunks of sick or dead trees, causing them often irreparable harm, since such wood is used by industry.
Representatives of the genus Paraponera
Slavata is not just huge ants, seeing a man is horrified. Their bite is very painful and much more dangerous than the sting of wasps and bees. The pain torments the person throughout the day. Have ant bullets, as they are often called, the most powerful sting containing poison, which contains a paralyzing substance. As a result ant bite a person cannot move; seizures may occur.For allergy sufferers, the bite can be fatal.
Interesting!
The ants do not attack first, first they try to cause fear - hissing and giving off an untidy smell to the supposed victim. In the Indian tribes of South America there is a special rite - dedication. It is carried out for the male population. Glove (this can be seen in the photo), filled with ants. 10 minutes, the men hold her bare hands. At the end of such an “execution” the hands become numb for a short time.
Bulldogs
Separately, I want to say about ants living in Australia. Locals gave them the name - Bulldogs. The length of their uterus is 4.5 cm; in working individuals it reaches up to 4 cm. Their body shape is similar to that of an aspen, but unlike them, they have no wings. This giant ant has very large jaws. They are half a centimeter ahead. Ant arms are notches located in the jaw.
Interesting!
The peculiarity of the ant-bulldogs is strength. They can drag a load that exceeds them. own weight 50 times. Period of life is about 5 years old. They overcome water obstacles, make loud sounds that are not characteristic of other species of this insect genus.
They prefer to live in humid terrain, where they build nests. The family has hundreds of ants, sometimes about 1000 individuals live in it. Bulldogs are mobile, show aggression, therefore for the person represent danger.
The largest anthills in the world
It is logical to assume that large ants should have the largest anthill in the world. This is not the case and its value does not always depend on this parameter. The larger the family, the larger anthill. Sometimes the size of the nest reaches a height of 1.7 m and a diameter of 3 meters. The value depends on the place where the construction will be conducted.
For many species of ants, the presence of moisture and greenery is fundamental. Such conditions for this exist in the Amazon Delta, where it is humid, warm, plenty of vegetation, soft soil and a large amount of “building material”. Here there are families numbering up to 5 million or more individuals.
Sometimes there is a merger of anthills, ate, they are located nearby. In such an anthill colony has up to 0.5 billion small and not very hardworking insects. Ant species also affects the size of the nest.But their family is less numerous and there are ants in nature that do not build nests at all.
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