Ant Life Cycle -An Overview, Stages

Ants are often seen walking in a line on the floor and walls of our houses, and we are wondering how they follow each other perfectly. There is an interesting fact that you have to know that the ants can lift 20 times their weight. Ants are an important part of the animal kingdom and belong to the class Arthropoda. Ants are an important topic in Biology.

This Story also Contains

1. What is Ant?
2. Taxonomic Classification of Ants
3. Basic Body Structure of Ants
4. Process of Reproduction in Ants
5. Life Cycle of an Ant
6. Economic Importance of Ants

Ants have their bodies divided into three parts- head, thorax, and abdomen, with three pairs of legs and one or two pairs of wings. With their well-organized colonies with different roles for queens, workers, and male ants, they are one of the most unique groups of animals living on the earth. In this article, complete information on their behavior, body structure, and other aspects is given.

What is Ant?

The largest and oldest insect colony in the animal kingdom is the ant. The ants are social insects that relate to the order Hymenoptera and belong to the class Arthropoda. There are more than 10,000 species of ants present in the animal kingdom. A colony of ants may contain more than 20 million individual ants. The name prescribed by scientists for the ant is Formicidae. Some basic points about ants are discussed below:

Ants are divided into three groups: Adult Queens, Adult workers, and Adult soldiers.

• Most species of ants are commonly found in tropical or rainy forests.

• The life cycles of ants completely depend upon the species, and they can vary from weeks to months.

• The duration of life depends on environmental factors and also on the climate of the region.

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Taxonomic Classification of Ants

Ants are social insects that are known for their division of labor and complex colony formation. They can be classified on the basis of taxonomy for a better understanding. They belong to the order Hymenoptera and are scientifically grouped under the family Formicidae. More details about the Taxonomic Hierarchy of Ants are given below:

Basic Body Structure of Ants

Ants have a segmented body divided into three main parts: head, thorax, and abdomen. The head part of their body contains sensory organs like compound eyes, antennae, and mandibles. The thorax has three pairs of legs and wings in the case of reproductive ants. And finally, the abdomen part contains internal organs and stingers in some species Basic Body Structure:

The body of an ant is divided into 3 parts: Head, Thorax, and Abdomen.

• Head - The head part contains Compound eyes, Antennae, and Mandibles.

• Thorax - Thorax has three pairs of legs along with two pairs of wings in the case of reproductive ants.

• Abdomen - Abdomen includes digestive, reproductive, and excretory organs along with stingers in some species.

Process of Reproduction in Ants

There are various ways of reproduction noticed in various ant species. In some species of ants, the female queens are found to be capable of asexual reproduction with the help of thelytokous parthenogenesis. In many species of ants, the reproduction process is only done by the queen and some females.

In some ant species, their nests have some queens, whereas in some other species, queens do not exist. Adult workers that are capable of reproduction are called gamergates, and the colonies which did not have any queens are known as gamergate colonies. Some important events of reproduction in ants are discussed below:

• Ants use both types of reproduction, which are sexual and asexual. In some queens, thelytokous parthenogenesis also takes place.

• Reproduction is mainly performed by queens, but in some cases, reproductive workers are also present.

• Drones mate with queens of other colonies using mating pheromones to avoid attacks by worker ants.

• Nuptial fights take place in late spring or early summer, where winged males and females leave their colonies for mating.

• Queens store sperm after mating with new colonies once the eggs shed their wings.

• The first worker is responsible for expanding the nest and caring for the colony.

Life Cycle of an Ant

Ant undergoes various physical changes during their whole lifespan. An ant goes through four stages of development that are – egg, larva, pupa, and adult in their whole life cycle. These stages are described as follows:

Stage 1 – Egg stage

• Two types of eggs are laid by the queen. Fertilized eggs( males) and Unfertilized eggs( females).

• She lays 200 to 1000 eggs per day.

• Larger eggs are generally queens.

• Eggs are hatched within 1-2 weeks.

• Worker ants move to the egg-hatching chamber.

Stage 2 – Larvae stage

• After hatching, worm-like larvae emerge.

• The larva has no eyes or legs.

• Worker ants feed the larvae ants, providing food from their stomach.

• The larvae completely depend upon worker ants for nourishment.

• The larvae are transformed into pupae.

Stage 3 – Pupa stage

• Larvae develop into pupae after several moults.

• During the pupa stage, the physical features of the eyes, legs, and wings start appearing.

• Pupae have well-developed legs and antennae. These are folded against the body during this stage.

Stage 4 – Adult stage

• The adult stage is the final stage of ant development, and it takes 5-10 weeks from egg to adult development.

• The pupa shell and cocoon are removed. The well-developed ant comes out.

• Newly emerged ants are soft and light-coloured.

• Workers live up to 1-3 weeks, while queen ants live up to 25-28 years.

Economic Importance of Ants

Ants play a very important role in both natural ecosystems and agriculture. They help in the aeration of soil by tunneling underground. This leads to an improvement in the fertility of the soil and plant growth. Many species of ants are used as natural pest controllers that feed on harmful insects like caterpillars and termites. In addition to this, the ants are also helpful in the decomposition of organic matter and the nutrient cycling.

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