FREE ESSAY ON ANTS

ANTS

Ants are social insects that live in colonies being some of the most successful of
insects. Ant colonies include one or more queens, workers, eggs, larvae and pupae. The
worker ants maintain their developed structures known as nests. Nests protect the ants
against their enemies, some protection against extremes of weather, and are often placed
close to water and food sources. Some ant species nest in the ground, many times under
concrete or slabs. Some species will be found in wood such as fence posts, dead logs, and
hollow trees or within structures. Ants are formed with a head, a thorax, or mid-section,
and an abdomen connected to the thorax by a very short, narrow stalk. On their heads are
mouths and mouthparts which are used to carry food or for defense. They have two compound
eyes that are used to detect movement, and several single eyes, which are for the purpose
of detecting light. Ants have two stomachs. They have a single stomach and a crop
stomach. The single stomach is used to store food for the ant to digest. The crop stomach
is more interesting; it contains food that the ant serves to the rest of the colony in
times of need. In the event an ant is starving, it walks up to another ant and signs with
its antennae I'm hungry. Give me some food. The ant receiving the sign regurgitates some
food for the starving ant to eat. Yum. Some ants also have stingers for defense purposes,
or, on rare occasions, there is some which can spray a poison from the end of their
abdomens. Ants can grow from point-zero-eight inches to an astounding two inches.
Ants may seem small and insignificant, but consider this: The combined weight of all the
ants on Earth probably equals the combined weight of all the people on Earth. Since the
planet supports nearly 6 billion humans, imagine the astronomical number of ants! More
than 8,800 species of ants have been identified, but scientists estimate that more than
20,000 ant species exist. An ant's small size makes it difficult to tel
Bibliography
Warner T. Johnson. 1995. Insects that Feed on Trees and Shrubs. 2nd ed. Jackson, N.J.
P123
Randall J. Schuh. 1997. True Bugs of the World. John Wiley. N.J. P96
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