Look around at the splendor of your world. Surrounded by the blooms, new leaves and fresh mowed grass; what else could you ask for? Of course there are other things that come with the territory called spring. New hope, abundance, fragrance, the great outdoors and last but not least: ants, ants and still more ants! Whoa here fella, what do you mean an abundance of ants? Don’t we just have about enough of our friends the mighty ant?
Well the answer is actually the other way; ants, pre-date us, outnumber us and out weight us! Additionally, if we are not clean in our living areas our dear friends, the ant, will outlast us! Here are a few ideas: ladies start your engines: clean all of your counters including the range! After you have finished do it again! Ants must have something to eat and the mighty ant will travel great lengths to get that needed food. Please don’t feed the lions, tigers, gorillas or ants!!! They outnumber us, outweigh us and have been around much longer than us!
Spring time is time for romance. When you see swarming ants a mating ritual older than time itself has begun. The males seek out the females within the swarm. After the mating has occurred the males begin the death ritual: they have done their duty and will be dead very soon. The fertilized female will find a tiny crevice or other hiding place. She will discard her wings, form a small cell and will lay a few eggs.
The eggs will hatch and ah Ha; white grubs appear (very small by the way). The queen will feed the grubs and as the grubs begin to grow the grub morphs into a worker ant. The worker ant forages for food (these are the ones in your home!)As the workers develop and more ants are hatched there will be new females and additional males: ah ha again: the swarm appears and off we go again. Good old queen will live 10-20 years on average producing eggs the entire time.
Please be careful in the treatment of ant invasions! Residential products may not be the best for you to use. Contact us for professional guidance!!
Showing posts with label ants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ants. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Army Ants
Sometimes it is just plain interesting to find learn about some of the more exotic insects in the world. This is especially true if the insect is not in the area where you live.
We have recently been seeing a lot about army ants. Ants, ants and more ants: key term as it is estimated that there are 10,000 trillion ants worldwide, weighing more than all mankind. Ants are the number one predator of other insects and are the principal scavengers of small dead animal bodies.
Just what makes army ants so interesting? To start with the army ant travels in very large numbers. Many colonies of these ants have around 1,000,000 in the colony. A good analogy of the method of attack is very similar to what mankind has done for centuries: a direct front movement using very large numbers. It is not uncommon for an attack of army ants to use over 200,000 in the attack. The best bet for anything in the path of the army ant attack is to get out of the way. Small animals do not have a chance. The perimeter of the army attack contains the specialists: the larger soldiers that have pinchers and will protect the flanks of the advancing army. Birds will actually follow behind the army and pick off insects as they attempt to get out the way. This army will kill small lizards, snakes and frogs if they fail to
move out of the way. Small ponds and streams are not a problem: the army will morph into a large ball and cross the water.
Being on earth for over 140 million years one thing is certain: they outlasted dinosaurs and if we as humans fail the army ant will be here for many millions of years. I for one am happy that the army ant is not in the United States. Good thing: the army ant will move its nest in the never ending quest for food.
When the nest is not moving: watch out the queen is very busy laying eggs around the clock and when those eggs morph into soldiers and infertile workers the army will go in search of food.
We have recently been seeing a lot about army ants. Ants, ants and more ants: key term as it is estimated that there are 10,000 trillion ants worldwide, weighing more than all mankind. Ants are the number one predator of other insects and are the principal scavengers of small dead animal bodies.
Just what makes army ants so interesting? To start with the army ant travels in very large numbers. Many colonies of these ants have around 1,000,000 in the colony. A good analogy of the method of attack is very similar to what mankind has done for centuries: a direct front movement using very large numbers. It is not uncommon for an attack of army ants to use over 200,000 in the attack. The best bet for anything in the path of the army ant attack is to get out of the way. Small animals do not have a chance. The perimeter of the army attack contains the specialists: the larger soldiers that have pinchers and will protect the flanks of the advancing army. Birds will actually follow behind the army and pick off insects as they attempt to get out the way. This army will kill small lizards, snakes and frogs if they fail to
move out of the way. Small ponds and streams are not a problem: the army will morph into a large ball and cross the water.
Being on earth for over 140 million years one thing is certain: they outlasted dinosaurs and if we as humans fail the army ant will be here for many millions of years. I for one am happy that the army ant is not in the United States. Good thing: the army ant will move its nest in the never ending quest for food.
When the nest is not moving: watch out the queen is very busy laying eggs around the clock and when those eggs morph into soldiers and infertile workers the army will go in search of food.
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