The division of functions of ant populations

Ants are insects of the family Formicidae of Hymenoptera, with many species. The division of functions generally has two levels: queens and workers. Unfertilized females and males appear at a specific time, and the heads of some species of workers become soldiers. Some species live in other species' nests, and their larvae are fed by the host workers. Let's take a look at the functional division of the ant population.

The queen.

The queen is a female with reproductive ability, or mother ant, ant king, etc., which is the largest in the group, especially with large abdomen, well-developed reproductive organs, short antennae, small chest and feet, winged, wingless or wingless. The main responsibility is to spawn, reproduce and manage the group family.

Female ant

Female ants are fertile females after mating. After mating, they lose their wings and become new queens, commonly known as "princesses" or "angels".

Male ant

Male ants, or paternal ants, have wings, a small round head, underdeveloped upper jaws, slender antennae, well-developed reproductive organs and external genitalia, and their main function is to mate with the queen, commonly known as "prince" or "mosquito". They die soon after mating.

Worker ant

Worker ants are also competent, wingless, rudimentary female, generally the smallest individual in the population, but the largest number, no reproductive capacity, the main responsibility is to build and expand nests, collect food, feed larvae and queens, and so on. In order to hibernate, ants eat a lot of food in autumn to store body fat, and they don't eat for the rest of the winter. Because of this, workers in the colony look for food almost every day to ensure that each member of the colony can eat enough food to protect against the cold in winter. Some species have the ability to reproduce, such as double-needle ribbed leaf-cutter ants and some fierce ants.

Soldier ant

The soldier ant is a common name for the large worker ants of some ant species. it is an infertile female with a large head and a well-developed upper jaw, which can crush hard food and become a combat weapon when defending groups.