Carpenter Ants Interesting Facts

The ants extremely social. They work in an organized group.
Work: The ants are, in the majority, workers and work in assembly to serve the queen and to take care of the larvae. Beyond that, they collect food and take care of the maintenance of the anthill.

Force: Can lift 7 times its own weight. It is as if a man lifts a car with his teeth!
Queen: Mates only one time and stores the sperm that it will use until death. Then it pulls out the wings with its teeth and prepares-itself for egg laying.

In the road: The ants mark their journey with chemical substances. Through the sense of smell, the other workers follow it.

The truth is: The carpenter ant is now rarer; since their habitat is disappearing.
Nobody knows quite how many species of ants there are. Yet most scientists believe there are thousands of undiscovered species in tropical; forests. Since these forests are being destroyed very quickly, many of these species will probably disappear before we get a chance to find them.
Does this matter? The truth is that ants are an important part of the web of life on Earth. If parts of this web are destroyed, then eventually it will collapse.

Carpenter ants are very hygienic in their nests. They like to remove all deteriorated foods and deceased ants

Study confirms that ants use disinfectant

“Careful, the ants improve their chances of survival by collecting resin to chemically disinfect the ants’ nests.” It was announced by scientists of the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland.

These results show that the Carpenter ants capitalize the chemical defenses that have evolved in plants to protect themselves collectively against pathogens, they added.

In a statement later published by Swiss National Science Foundation, scientists from Lausanne – Michel Chapuisat, Philippe Christe, Pasqualina Magliano and Anne Oppliger – said that the discovery “shows the tremendous capacity of the social insects to take public health measures within a colony”
The ants are not the only species to use resin in this way. Many birds and some mammals also incorporate the material in their nests, the scientists added.

Curiosity

The ants are found in many children’s fables and stories of Western culture, representing work and cooperative efforts, as well as aggression and spirit of revenge. In parts of Africa, the ants are considered messengers of the gods. Some religions of the North American Indians, such as the Hopi, consider the ants to be the first inhabitants of the world.

Some cultures use stinging ants in ceremonies of initiation, as a test of resistance.

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