Fascinating Ants Essay -- Biology Biological Ant Ants Research Papers

Among the many hundreds of thousands of astonishing organisms with which we mustsh atomic number 18 this earth, there is one(a) seemingly ordinary group of specimens whichfascinates many multitude beyond all others. thither is nothing too extraordinary inthe proportions or appearance of ants, hardly it is their history and culture thatinduces a second look. These insects ar about as divers(prenominal) from us mammals astwo organisms abide be, yet it appears that of all the know animals their steering of manner appears closest to our human way of life. The similarities in the ways inwhich we organize our lives are astounding. Ants are doubtlessly the mostsuccessful of all the social insects of the Hymenoptera, an order also includingwasps and bees.The earliest known specimens are found entombed in the Norse Baltic Ambersamples which scientists date in upwards of 100 million years old (The AntColony 89). These archaic samples have evolved into the 5000 to 10000species known t oday which vary amongst themselves as widely as the numberssuggest (Social Insects 68). These remarkably adaptive creatures are found insome form on all continents and all habitats but the extreme arctics. Theirsuccess is manifested in the claim that at any time there are at least 1quadrillion living ants on earth(Groliers 93).All species of ants are social. They live in organized communities or colonies,which may contain anywhere from a few hundred to more than than than 20 millionindividuals. These are organized into a complex system which may contain two ormore castes and sub castes which can be roughly organized into three groups.Queens, males and actors.The queen is much larger than the other ants, and has wings until mating. Herprimary task is to lay bombard for the colony. Some colonies have one queenothers have up to 5000. Queens develop from fertilized ordinary eggs, nobodyis exactly certain what causes these to develop into queens but it is generallythought that the as sist comes from an altered diet in the pupae and larvaestages and as a pheremone response, which will later be discussed. Queens havean extended life span of up to 25 years and can lay millions of eggs in thattime (Ant Colony 89).Male ants are winged as well, their touch on purpose is to mate with the queens.For this originator they are the shortest lived ants in the colony. Hatching in the... ...ne species over another found in natureaside from we humans is the slave-making species. These rupture other colonies andsteal worker pupae that they enslave to carry out the work of their colonies.Some species, such as the ants of the Amazon are so specialized for capturingslaves that they can not forage for sustenance or care for their young. Withoutslaves they quickly perish.Ants are often called the most fascinating insects of all. While they can bevastly destructive, find valuable trees bare in the tropics, and a generalnuisance marching through kitchens and pantries they are ext remely helpful toman as they help to pass away the earth of pests like termites. timberland ants clearforests of millions of tree-destroying insects over a single summer. They havebeen here for approximately 53 million years, and 56 percent of genera represent among the extensive Baltic atomic number 79 are living today, and show no signof dying out soon. In our great pursuit of knowledge it is my wish that we canderive something of regard as from studying the culture and life-style of thehardest working organisms in the world. (With the exception, of course, of theVillanova biology teachers). Fascinating Ants Essay -- Biology Biological Ant Ants look for PapersAmong the many hundreds of thousands of astonishing organisms with which we mustshare this earth, there is one seemingly ordinary group of specimens whichfascinates many people beyond all others. There is nothing too extraordinary inthe proportions or appearance of ants, but it is their history and cult ure thatinduces a second look. These insects are about as different from us mammals astwo organisms can be, yet it appears that of all the known animals their way oflife appears closest to our human way of life. The similarities in the ways inwhich we organize our lives are astounding. Ants are doubtlessly the mostsuccessful of all the social insects of the Hymenoptera, an order also includingwasps and bees.The earliest known specimens are found entombed in the Scandinavian Baltic Ambersamples which scientists date in upwards of 100 million years old (The AntColony 89). These primitive samples have evolved into the 5000 to 10000species known today which vary amongst themselves as widely as the numberssuggest (Social Insects 68). These remarkably adaptive creatures are found insome form on all continents and all habitats but the extreme arctics. Theirsuccess is manifested in the claim that at any time there are at least 1quadrillion living ants on earth(Groliers 93).All species of an ts are social. They live in organized communities or colonies,which may contain anywhere from a few hundred to more than 20 millionindividuals. These are organized into a complex system which may contain two ormore castes and sub castes which can be roughly organized into three groups.Queens, males and workers.The queen is much larger than the other ants, and has wings until mating. Herprimary task is to lay eggs for the colony. Some colonies have one queenothers have up to 5000. Queens develop from fertilized ordinary eggs, nobodyis exactly certain what causes these to develop into queens but it is generallythought that the process comes from an altered diet in the pupae and larvaestages and as a pheremone response, which will later be discussed. Queens havean extended life span of up to 25 years and can lay millions of eggs in thattime (Ant Colony 89).Male ants are winged as well, their sole purpose is to mate with the queens.For this reason they are the shortest lived ants in the colony. Hatching in the... ...ne species over another found in natureaside from we humans is the slave-making species. These raid other colonies andsteal worker pupae that they enslave to carry out the work of their colonies.Some species, such as the ants of the Amazon are so specialized for capturingslaves that they can not forage for food or care for their young. Withoutslaves they quickly perish.Ants are often called the most fascinating insects of all. While they can bevastly destructive, stripping valuable trees bare in the tropics, and a generalnuisance marching through kitchens and pantries they are extremely helpful toman as they help to clear the earth of pests like termites. Wood ants clearforests of millions of tree-destroying insects over a single summer. They havebeen here for approximately 53 million years, and 56 percent of generarepresented among the extensive Baltic amber are living today, and show no signof dying out soon. In our great pursuit of knowledge it is my hope that we canderive something of value from studying the culture and life-style of thehardest working organisms in the world. (With the exception, of course, of theVillanova biology teachers).