Ants are a kind of small insects that many of our friends are familiar with. Not only are there many types, but their numbers are huge. Whether in cities or rural areas, we can see ants. Some have become pests of crops, and some even threaten humans. For example, fire red ants are often searched on the Internet.
In addition to the large variety and quantity, careful friends may also notice another phenomenon, that is, some ants actually have wings.
In the eyes of many people, ants should be insects that can only run on the ground, but some ants do have wings. In some places, ants with wings are called "flying ants", and ants with wings are regarded as a separate species.
So is it true that ants with wings are a separate species? In fact, this is not the case. Wings actually represent a kind of right and status in the ant colony. Not every ant can have wings. If you want to know how high the rights and status of ant wings are in the ant colony, don’t forget to bookmark and follow it. Today, the editor will reveal to you the rights and status of ant wings in the ant colony.
The structure of an ant colony
If we pay attention to a nest of ants, we will find that in the same nest of ants, these ants have different shapes and sizes, and even the composition of the ants varies with the seasons.
In fact, ants are social insects that live in groups, consisting of four levels, and are insects with complete metamorphosis.
First of all, there are females and males, which are characteristics shared by almost all living things. However, ants have more levels due to different division of labor. The queen ant we mentioned above is the heart of an ant colony and belongs to the breeder in the ant colony.
When there are females, there will be males, so in addition to the queen ant, there are also male ants in the ant colony.
If we know more about ants, we have actually heard of soldier ants and worker ants . In other words, a complete ant colony should be composed of four levels: queen ant, soldier ant, worker ant, and male ant.
Male ants are the providers of male genetic material in the ant colony. Soldier ants and worker ants are actually workers in the ant colony and perform all the work except production. The difference between soldier ants and worker ants is that soldier ants are slightly larger than worker ants, with a larger head and a larger mouth. When carrying food, this mouth can decompose food.
The role of worker ants is to carry food, so soldier ants can be said to be a supplement to worker ants. In fact, they do similar work to worker ants, and their status in the ant colony belongs to the general population. The main groups in an ant colony are also worker ants and soldier ants.
Why do some ants have wings and some don't?
In fact, in an ant colony, the ants we often see are soldier ants and worker ants. The time we see male ants and queens is relatively small, and many people have never even seen the queen, because the queen will not go out after mating. Male ants are also produced seasonally, and the ants with wings we see are male ants and queens.
The status of wings in an ant colony
So how important are wings in an ant colony? In fact, this is not only a symbol of power, but also a manifestation of status.
We all know that the queen ant only lays two types of eggs, either fertilized eggs or unfertilized eggs. Fertilized eggs develop into females and unfertilized eggs develop into males. In other words, male ants are haploid, while other types of ants are diploid. These ants include queen ants, soldier ants, and worker ants.
It is obvious that the queen ant, soldier ants, and worker ants are all females in the ant colony. They are all developed from fertilized eggs. They are only affected by acquired influences, resulting in the emergence of different castes. Among these four castes of ants, only the queen and male ants actually have reproductive rights. Although soldier ants and worker ants are female, they do not have normal reproductive functions.
It can be seen that having wings in an ant colony means that the ant is either the "father" or the "mother" of the ant colony. Although it seems that the large number of worker ants and soldier ants in an ant colony determines the future development of the ant colony, the normal order of the entire ant colony is actually controlled by the queen's pheromones. Although the male ants do not seem to have much effect, they are also the queen's "husband" after all.
Therefore, the ants with wings in the ant colony are not a species, but the queen ants and male ants in the ant colony. Their wings represent their supreme power and status.
