The mind of ants has long puzzled scientists. Indeed, is it possible to assume that such primitive and small creatures generally have some rudiments of consciousness? But the behavior of many subspecies of ants can be compared with human behavior. There is a place for slave wars (more about slave ants), hunting and gathering, there are palace coups and large-scale battles. In addition, some ants behave like real gangsters - see how amazing and unusual this micro-universe is under our feet.
Here we saw what the largest ant in the world looks like.
See what other strange ants are in nature.
Infanticide ants
Solenopsis Fugax.
These ants do not bother themselves with the search for food. And why, when you can just get into someone else's nest, scare away all the workers and steal the larvae. Real cannibals!
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Robber ants
Temnothorax Pilagens.
The species of the so-called invisible ants or robber ants does not have its own working individuals: only real warriors are raised here. They attack small relatives, drag off their larvae and use them as a slave force. How can this be called? That's right, a democratic society.
Chemist ants
Crematogaster Striatula.
African ants of this species prey on large termites. On the abdomen they have poisonous glands: at the sight of a termite, an ant sprays a paralyzing poison and eats alive prey twitching with horror.
Gangster ants
Cardiocondyla obscurior.
There can only be one Don in a gangster colony. Rather, one male - if a competitor comes from outside, the local alpha will release special pheromones that lure workers. They kill the intruder. In addition, the alpha male is careful to ensure that the nannies kill the newborn male ants. Only on the second day their shell becomes strong and the rivals enter the fray. Both emit the same pheromones into the air, provoking an attack by workers. In half of the cases, the workers kill both claimants to the throne without understanding.
Mirror ants
Cephalotes Specularis.
The species Cephalotes Specularis has adapted to parasitize on more warlike relatives, Crematogaster Ampla. They arrange surveillance of a tribe of warriors until they find a source of food. Here, the tactics of spies completely change: Cephalotes Specularis pretend that they are competitors, and while warlike brothers are built to repel the enemy, they simply steal food and run away.
Another unique feature of these parasitic ants is their ability to "eavesdrop" on pheromone labels of their hosts. And they are so adept at this that they are guided by them even better than the master's workers!
Mirror ants are found in 89% of the territories controlled by C. ampla, scientists estimate. But they live, surprisingly, in their own separate nests. Other types of parasitic ants usually live in the anthills of their hosts and are completely dependent on them, having lost the ability to live independently. The unusual ecology of C. specularis indicates a relatively recent emergence of parasitism in this species, Dr. Powell said. And this is a great opportunity to speculate about the evolution of social parasitism, to study its early stages, when individuals have not yet lost their free lifestyle.
Parasitic ants
Formicoxenus Nitidulus.
The shiny guest ants are the real drones of the ant world. They get into someone else's colony and live happily ever after, not working and not protecting the colony. Moreover, the guards can catch such an uninvited guest, but they immediately let him go - scientists believe that because of the disgusting smell.
Dinosaur ants
Dinoponera Quadriceps.
Ants of this species grow up to 2.5 centimeters in length, real giants. In their colony, there is one alpha female and five beta females, needed to quickly replace alpha in case of misfortune. But often, someone from the beta runs the risk of laying eggs before the deadline, and then the alpha female orders the workers to shackle her to the ground with saliva. After staying in such a cage for 4 days, beta turns into one of the ordinary workers.
Needle ants
Pachycondyla Chinensis.
There are two varieties of Pachycondyla Chinensis: Argentinian and Asian. At the moment, the Asians are conducting a major offensive on the lands of their Argentine relatives - soon there will be only one subspecies.
War ants
Pheidole.
Large-headed ants are so named because one of the castes has substantially larger heads than the other two. There are ordinary workers, slightly larger soldiers and really huge super warriors, whose heads are three times larger than those of ordinary soldiers.
Rasberry ants
Nylanderia Fulva.
A real war is going on between this species and the fire ants. Moreover, the venom of fire ants is as much as three times more toxic than the DDT insecticide, that is, they can destroy most other insects. In addition to the Rasberry ants: when attacked by fire ants, they release their own toxin, which covers their body and neutralizes foreign poison.
Mullet ants
In South America, there are very unusual ants, the cephalotes ants. These are small woody insects ranging in length from 4 to 14 mm.
They have a number of interesting features, the most noticeable of which is the extremely unusual shape of the insect's head (see picture). Why does a mullet need such a design on its head? Everything is very simple - in case of danger, the ant hides in a previously prepared shelter, and blocks the entrance to its nest with its head. A strong chitinous plate on the insect's head reliably protects its owner from many enemies.
Also, this species of ants can control their flight in the event of an unplanned fall from a tree. Using its unusual body structure, the ant plans on the same tree and does not lose contact with its home.
Well, not quite an ant yet, of course.
Panda ant, she is a German wasp
This is not an alien from the future and not a mutant ant. This is exactly how the wingless wasps Euspinolia militaris from the family of German wasps, which live in Latin America and, in particular, in Chile, look not quite familiar to our eyes.
For a body covered with thick hairs, lack of wings and resemblance to ants, they got their second name - velvet ants. Representatives of this species rarely catch the eye of biologists, so little is known about their way of life.