Ants
Formicidae
EOL Text
In some parts of the world, including the United States, ant species have been accidentally brought in from other continents. These invader ants are causing a lot of problems.
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Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/ |
Ants
Ants are small.
But ants don't have a beard at all.
They're under the ground almost all the time,
But they just don't know how to rhyme.
Out your door and beneath your feet,
They're digging nonstop, with every heartbeat!
- Poem written by William in Ms. McCurdy's 3rd Grade Class, North Falmouth Elementary School.
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Rights holder/Author | Anne Thessen, Anne Thessen |
Source | No source database. |
Worker ants attack predators, they will die to protect their nest. Some ant species can sting, and all can bite (though the little ones can't hurt a large animal). Many ants also have toxic chemicals they can spray on their enemies.
Known Predators:
- Aves
- Ursidae (break open nests and eat the immature ants)
- Eumeces fasciatus
- Anura
- Araneae
- other Formicidae
- Carabidae
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/ |
Several ant species are considered threatened or in danger of extinction. This is because they live in special habitats that are very rare and may be destroyed by human construction or environmental change.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/ |
Formicidae is prey of:
Amphisbaena caeca
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Eleutherodactylus richmondi
Eleutherodactylus portoricensis
Eleutherodactylus wightmanae
Eleutherodactylus eneidae
Melanerpes portoricensis
Todus mexicanus
Mimocichla plumbea
Margarops fuscatus
Anolis cuvieri
Anolis evermanni
Anolis stratulus
Anolis gundlachi
Leptodactylus albilabris
Myiarchus antillarum
Nesospingus speculiferus
Icterus dominicensis
Vireo altiloquus
Seiurus aurocapillus
Sphaerodactylus klauberi
Sphaerodactylus macrolepis
Diploglossus pleei
Anthracothorax viridis
Parula americana
Dendroica caerulescens
Dendroica discolor
Typhlops rostellatus
Eptesicus fuscus
Lasiurus borealis
Dendroica petechia
Loxigilla noctis
Trochilidae
Anolis gingivinus
Anolis pogus
Orthoptera
Araneae
Chilopoda
Based on studies in:
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Waide RB, Reagan WB (eds) (1996) The food web of a tropical rainforest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
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Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Ants can be major pests. Carpenter ants make their nests in wood, including houses, and several ant species come into houses looking for food. In the tropics leaf-cutter ants attack crops in the fields. Some stinging ants can be dangerous to people. Recently an ant species from South America was accidentally brought to the southern United States. It is called the Imported Fire Ant, and it makes large nests with thousands of stinging defenders.
Negative Impacts: injures humans (bites or stings); crop pest; household pest
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/ |
Ants, are classified in the family Formicidae. These insects are native to nearly all terrestrial habitats and all parts of the globe except for Antarctica, Iceland, Greenland, some parts of Polynesia, and a few remote Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean islands(3), and are often extremely abundant locally(2). Though there are over 8,800 species known (and perhaps over 11,000 more that have not been described)(3), ants generally have a distinctive body structure: while they have, like many insects, a head, thorax (the midsection), and abdomen (the rear section), their “waist” connecting their thorax to the main part of their abdomen is unusually thin and pinched (1,3). Most ants are also characterized by the presence of a metapleural gland, an organ that produces a chemical called phenylacetic acid that is used for fighting bacteria and fungi(2,3); this gland may have helped ants colonize the moist environments where most ant species now live(2). Like only a few other groups of insects, ants have evolved a complex system of social interaction that qualifies them as “eusocial” insects(2,3). They live and work together in multi-generational colonies that are generally organized in “castes” of queens and males (who reproduce) and worker females (who cannot reproduce)(2,3), communicating via a chemical communication system that may be more complicated than that of any other kind of animal(2). In addition to these extraordinary social structures, ants have complex and extremely important relationships with many other species, giving them a central role in ecosystems across the globe(2). Some ants have partnerships with fungi(2). Some ants defend plants from herbivores, help plants reproduce by pollinating their flowers and spreading their seeds, and help plants grow by turning over the soil (which keeps it rich and healthy)(1,2,3). In fact, many plants depend on ants for their survival(3). On the other hand, some ants are the primary plant-eaters in their environments(1,2), and in many cases ants are major predators of small animals(2). Although some ant species can be pests themselves(1,2), some are beneficial to humans by feeding on harmful crop pests(2)—and by serving as subjects for a wide range of scientific studies(2,3).
- 1. “Ant Information.” Center for Insect Science Education Outreach, University of Arizona. 1997. 29 Jul. 2011. http://insected.arizona.edu/antinfo.htm
- 2. Hölldobler, Bert and Edward O. Wilson. The Ants. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990.
- 3. Roof, Jennifer. “Family Formicidae: Ants.” Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. 2001. 1 Sept. 2011. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Formicidae.html
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Rights holder/Author | Noah Weisz, Noah Weisz |
Source | No source database. |
Formicidae preys on:
Eleutherodactylus coqui
Collembola
Auchenorrhyncha
Sternorrhyncha
fungi
fruit
seeds
dead leaves
detritus
Acari
fruit and seeds
nectar and floral
Zenaida asiatica
Vanessa cardui
Misumena vatia
Based on studies in:
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Waide RB, Reagan WB (eds) (1996) The food web of a tropical rainforest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 16, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.org. http://www.animaldiversity.org
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Ants are important predators of insects, including flies, caterpillars, and other pests.
Positive Impacts: controls pest population
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/ |
Ants can see, but not very well. They mainly communicate with scent and touch. They have complicated chemical signals that allow them to work together on different tasks. They often spread information by touching each other's antennae or head. Some ants also make noises by rubbing their legs against their body.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/ |