All About Ants

Ants have been living on the earth for more than 100 million years and can be found almost anywhere on the planet. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 different species of ants. For this reason, ants have been called Earth's most successful species.

Ants build several different types of homes. Many ants build the simple little mounds out of dirt and sand. Other ants use small sticks mixed with dirt and sand to make at make a stronger mound that offers protection in the rain. Western Harvester ants make a small mound on top, then tunnel up to 15 feet straight down to hibernate in the winter. Ant mounds consist of many different chambers connected to the tunnels. These chambers are used for nurseries, food storage, and resting places for worker ants. Some ants live in wood similar to termites. Army ants don't make a home at all but travel in large groups searching for food.

Sociology: Ants are social insects, meaning they live in large colonies or groups. Some colonies have millions of ants. There are three different types of ants in each species, the queen, the sterile female workers, and males. The male ants only serve to mate with future queen ants and do not live very long. The queen grows to adulthood, mates and then spends the rest for her life laying eggs. A colony may only have one queen, or there may be many queens, depending on the species. Ants go through four stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Anatomy: Ants have three main parts: head, trunk, and rear or metasoma. All six legs are attached to the trunk. The head consists of eyes, jaws and antennae. The eyes are made up of many lenses, enabling them to see movement very well. The antennae are special organs of smell, touch, tasting and hearing. The metasoma contains the stomach and rectum. Many species of ants have poison sacks, or stingers, in the end of the metasoma for defense against their predators.

Organs: Ants do not have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and carbon dioxide leaves through the same holes. There are no blood vessels. The heart is a long tube that circulates colorless blood from the head back to the rear. The nervous system of ants consists of a long nerve cord that runs from head to rear with branches leading to the different parts of the body.

Communication: If you watch ants for any length of time you will see that they really do communicate with each other and effectively too. Ants communicate by touching each other with their antennae. Ants also use chemicals called pheromones to leave scent trails for other ants to follow.

Please reference our "Ant Identification Guide" to assist you in identifying the species of ant you see. It is important to remember that different species of ants call for different methods of control. Call Mother Nature's today for your free pest evaluation, "we know the secret."