Ants: Tiny creatures with superhuman strength
Leave behind a drop of coffee on your table or a crumb of bread, and you are sure to find a group of tiny ants of ants feasting on it. Ants first appeared on the planet 140 to 168 million years ago when dinosaurs were still roaming the planet. Initially rare, ants evolved drastically around 100 million years ago; with the evolution of plants into producing flowers, ant species developed to occupy various ecological niches. Ants survived continental shifts, climatic and geographical changes, and colonised almost all of the planet's landmasses. In fact, do you know, that much like humans, ants build colonies, have a queen, and sometimes can even turn into zombies? Surprised? Read on to know more.
Of colonies and queens
Yes! Ants form colonies known as ‘formicary,’ in different sizes and shapes. An average colony is home to few dozen to thousands of ants. Giant colonies with more than 300 million ants are found in Australia, Japan, and the USA. Those with bigger colonies build enormous nests and search for food supplies, while smaller ones dwell in natural holes. However, there are around 200 homeless ant species too!
Ants live in a hierarchy and divide jobs among themselves. Each colony has one or more queens. Their only duty is to lay egg. Other female ants are all workers, they nurture larvae, remove waste from the colony, hunt for food and resources, defend their colony and protect the queen. These worker ants can live for up to one year. The only function of male ants is to mate with the future queen.
Superhuman strength, but no ears
You did read that right! Ants have absurdly high strength. They can lift anything from 10 to 50 times their own weight! How much an ant can carry varies from species to species. The Asian weaver ants can lift 100 times their own weight. Ant muscles have a huge cross-sectional area thanks to their miniature size, and that's the secret behind their incredible strength.
Unlike other pests, ants don't have ears but aren't deaf! Confused? Ants sense ground vibrations in the subgenual organ (below the knee) to detect threats or to find food signals. Not only ears, ants don't have lungs either. Instead, they use spiracles (tiny holes on the sides of their body connected through tubes) for oxygen distribution.
However, they have two stomachs, one for storing food for their own consumption and the other for holding food to be shared with other ants. They don't let anyone from their colony starve! How thoughtful!
Turning into zombies
We have seen human or canine zombies in sci-fi movies. However, ants can turn into a zombie too! A specific type of fungus infects ants and takes control over them. This fungus (Ophiocordyceps camponoti-floridani) penetrates the ant's exoskeleton and eats away all the soft tissue. Soon after, it prompts the ant to abandon its colony by unidentified mechanisms. The ant uses a "death grip"(attaching to the leaf) and dies.