subject: Interesting Facts About Ants That You May Not Know [print this page] 1)Ants are the number one invaders of homes and businesses around the world.
2)There are approximately more than 12,000 ant species throughout the world.
3)Of the various types of ants present in the world, tramp ants possess certain characteristics that enable them to colonize and dominate a particular environment, particularly environments where they co-exist with people.
4)When ants forage, they leave pheromone trails so they can track where theyve been.
5)There are three different types of ants that live within an ant colony: The queen, the female workers, and the males. Both the queens and males have wings while the female workers do not.
6)The queen ant is the only ant that can lay eggs and will make millions of eggs (which will become ants) in her lifetime. Some may consider a fourth type of ant a soldier ant, which is responsible for defending the queen ant in the event of an invasion.
7)When eggs hatch, the young ants become slave ants to a colony. Their jobs include caring for the eggs that have yet to hatch and providing food for the colony. They also build the anthills.
8)Ants colonize in different places. For instance, carpenter ants colonize inside wood. Argentine ants live outdoors in wet environments, such as near a lake or river. Pavement ants, as their names suggest, colonize within the cracks of pavement, such as sidewalks and driveways. Fire ants will live in soil outdoors.
9)The locations of colonies mentioned above are all outdoors, but there are certain types of ants that actually gravitate towards living indoors, including the odorous house ant. These creates feast on both dead insects and decaying fruits.
10) You can prevent odorous house ants from invading your home by not leaving food out on the kitchen counter or coffee tape and always taking out the trash. Be sure to check your fruit basket to see if there are any rotting pieces of apples, pears, or melons.
11) Ants dont have lungs. They breathe when oxygen enters their body through tiny holes all over their bodies.
12) Ants dont have ears. Instead, they feel vibrations in the ground through their feet.
13)Most ants do not pose a serious health threat to humans, but they contaminate foods we eat with the waste they leave behind, emphasizing the importance of not leaving food out at picnics or cookouts.
