interesting ant facts by Eternal_Knight 2011/05/17 05:48
No other insect species is as unbelievable... as sophisticated, and as ...well, as powerful as ants. They have remained in an un-evolved stateof perfection for 6 million years,because they got it right. And if you got it right, why mess with it? This list is only a tiny fraction of all the amazing facts about ants. Think about these ant facts before the next time you step on them for fun.
The animal with the largest brain in proportion to its size is the ant. They are known to be the smartest species of insects with about 250,000 brain cells
Ants began farming about 50 million years before humans thought to raise their own crops. The earliest evidence suggests ants started using agriculture as early as 70 million years ago in the early Tertiary period. Even more amazing, these ants use sophisticated horticultural techniques to enhance their crop yields. They secrete chemicals with antibiotic properties to inhibit mold growth, and devised fertilization protocols using manure. Leafcutter Ants grow mushrooms to feed their colony, a notoriously difficult thing to grow... requiring an enormously sophisticated system of vents and tunnels to control the humidity and temperature.
Separate species, or hostile factions of the same species, may be seen massed in combat, which can be continued for hours, days or weeks. Some of the most extensive battles observed have been fought between Pavement Ants, but there have been massive battlesbetween Argentinian supercolonies that have left millions of ants dead in days. And not just head-to-head battles are fought either, psychological warfare between species has been witnessed as well. Amazon ants (also known for taking slaves) have been observed surrounding an enemynest and simply sitting and waiting while their victims became more and more frenziedby the camped-out menace. After two entire days, the Amazons attacked, easily defeating their enemies who had been unable to forage and were disorganized and panickedfrom the seige.
By combining force of numbers with organized aggression, antshave become the greatest insectkillers on Earth . even of their own kind.
Ants make up 1/10 of the total world animal tissue. The total biomass of all the ants on Earth is roughly equal to the total biomass of all the people on Earth.
Invasive Argentine ants form large supercolonies in California. These colonies stretch for hundreds of miles and include millions of nests. Ants from different nests of the same colony rarely show aggression toward each other. The largest supercolony in southern California extends some 600 miles and borders three smaller colonies.
Ants never sleep
No other insect species is as unbelievable... as sophisticated, and as ...well, as powerful as ants. They have remained in an un-evolved stateof perfection for 6 million years,because they got it right. And if you got it right, why mess with it? This list is only a tiny fraction of all the amazing facts about ants. Think about these ant facts before the next time you step on them for fun.
The animal with the largest brain in proportion to its size is the ant. They are known to be the smartest species of insects with about 250,000 brain cells
Ants began farming about 50 million years before humans thought to raise their own crops. The earliest evidence suggests ants started using agriculture as early as 70 million years ago in the early Tertiary period. Even more amazing, these ants use sophisticated horticultural techniques to enhance their crop yields. They secrete chemicals with antibiotic properties to inhibit mold growth, and devised fertilization protocols using manure. Leafcutter Ants grow mushrooms to feed their colony, a notoriously difficult thing to grow... requiring an enormously sophisticated system of vents and tunnels to control the humidity and temperature.
Separate species, or hostile factions of the same species, may be seen massed in combat, which can be continued for hours, days or weeks. Some of the most extensive battles observed have been fought between Pavement Ants, but there have been massive battlesbetween Argentinian supercolonies that have left millions of ants dead in days. And not just head-to-head battles are fought either, psychological warfare between species has been witnessed as well. Amazon ants (also known for taking slaves) have been observed surrounding an enemynest and simply sitting and waiting while their victims became more and more frenziedby the camped-out menace. After two entire days, the Amazons attacked, easily defeating their enemies who had been unable to forage and were disorganized and panickedfrom the seige.
By combining force of numbers with organized aggression, antshave become the greatest insectkillers on Earth . even of their own kind.
Ants make up 1/10 of the total world animal tissue. The total biomass of all the ants on Earth is roughly equal to the total biomass of all the people on Earth.
Invasive Argentine ants form large supercolonies in California. These colonies stretch for hundreds of miles and include millions of nests. Ants from different nests of the same colony rarely show aggression toward each other. The largest supercolony in southern California extends some 600 miles and borders three smaller colonies.
Ants never sleep
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