Red ants

Red ants have the ability to distinguish the shape of an object, regardless of size and color, and determine the color. Insects have poor eyesight, but strongly developed sense of touch and smell. Organs of smell are located on the antennae. With these antennae the red ant feels about the things in its path. The development of this sense organ allows insects to easily identify "their" and "strangers". They also find their way to the anthill by the smell of traces.

Structure of the ant

These insects have one characteristic feature, by which they can be distinguished from other hymenoptera. All ants have a thin stem, consisting of two or one joint and located between the abdomen and the chest. In other hymenoptera, the abdomen joins directly to the breast. Workers do not have wings, males are always with wings, and in females they appear only at the beginning of development. Later, when they become "queens," they discard them.

Only red ants have metapleural glands. Presumably, their contents are used for the disinfection of nests.

The mass of the brain and body is related approximately in the same proportions as the dog - 1: 200 or 1: 300. Mushroom bodies performing a function similar to the functions of the cerebral cortex in animals, in some individuals occupy half of the total brain volume. This is explained by the fact that insects are not inferior to birds in terms of their ability to learn.

At the base of the jaws are located glands, which produce a pheromone of anxiety. If you disturb a group of ants on top of an anthill, you can observe how the excitement will disperse from it. After a while, individuals starting from different entrances will start appearing quite aggressively. A chain reaction will begin. The insect, which is disturbed, takes a defensive position and begins to "shoot" the pheromone of anxiety from the glands. The liquid consists mainly of formic acid and indecane (carbon). With the help of formic acid, red ants kill prey and are protected. Together with this, it performs the function of pheromone, affecting other individuals. Indecan acts as an irritant, causing aggression in other ants.

If you stop worrying insects, then after a while they calm down. However, if the air is too high concentration of pheromone, the red ants begin to behave differently. So, for example, workers of North American "reapers" with an increased level of pheromone in the air begin to actively dig the earth. "Wandering Ants" leave the nest, moving to another place.

The smell of females also acts as an unconditioned stimulus for insects. If, for example, you wash off a small piece of elderberry core with ether or alcohol from the female body and the solution, then the males will begin to care for him, as well as for the female.

Ants belong to the category of social polymorphic insects. Their outer skeleton is represented by chitin.

The heads of individuals can have a round, conical, square, pyramidal, heart-shaped, plane-convex shape. Regardless of the shape of this part of the calf, there is always a pair of clavate antennae on it. They are located in the pits between the eyes. On the head of ants there is a crown, forehead, sometimes you can see cheeks. Some individuals have three simple eyes and a pair of complex eyes. Many ants lack sight at all.

Oral parts of insects are gnawing. Some ants have so-called podrotovye bags. When cleaning the nest, they put dust in there. The insects have a wide lower and upper lip, as well as two jaw pairs (mandibles).

Behind the head follows the chest. It consists of three segments. Three pairs of legs are attached to the chest, each of which has a five-segmented tab.