We all know that ants can be annoying to say the least. However, they are important to the environment. Ants are social insects. They live in large colonies. Ant colonies can consist of millions of ants depending on the species. It is impressive to Sugar Land Chiropractors that ants have so many talents such as being able carry so much more than they weigh. In an ant colony there are three kinds of ants. The queen ant, the female worker ants and the male worker ants.
The queen ant and the male ants have wings while the other worker ants do not have wings. The queen ant is the only ant that lays eggs. Depending on the species a colony may have one queen or more. The male antís job is to mate with future queens. Unfortunately for the male ants they do not live long after mating with future queens. Once the queen ant grows into adulthood, she spends the rest of her life laying eggs. The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors admire how organized an ant colony is.
Some of the work ants are actually soldier ants that protect the queen, defend the colony, gather or kill food and attack enemy colonies in search for food and nesting space. If the soldier ants defeat another ant colony, they then take away eggs of the defeated colony. When these eggs hatch, they become slave ants for the colony. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the eggs and babies, gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds. Just as ants, each person at Sugar Land Chiropractors have specific jobs.
Some fund ant facts are there are more than 12,000 species of ants all over the world. An ant can lift 20 times its own body weight. Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies. Ants donít have ears. Ants hear by feeling vibrations in the ground through their feet. When ants fight, they will fight until one of them dies. When ants are foraging for food or nesting materials, they will leave a pheromone trails so they can find their way back. Queen ants shed their wings every time they start a new nest.
From a scientific stand point, Sugar Land Chiropractors find it very interesting that these ants do not have lungs.Ants do not have lungs. Oxygen enters through tiny holes all over the body and the carbon dioxide leaves the same way. When a queen ant of a colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months. Queens are rarely replaced, and the workers are not able to reproduce. There are many different species of ants. The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors understand that there is an immense amount of different species of ants. Argentine ants are a species that is native to Argentina and Brazil and was introduced to the United States via freight ships around the 1890ís.
Sugar Land Chiropractors and Ants
These ants are usually found in California, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon and Washington. These ants like to eat substances that are sweet including meats, eggs, oils and fats. When foraging for food, these ants leave pheromone trails everywhere they go, instead of just from nest to food source. This ensures they do not waste time visiting the same area twice. Within the Argentine colony the queen actually assists with foraging for food.
The staff at Sugar Land Chiropractor understand the importance of preventing these ants from moving in to their homes. The Argentine ant colonies are located in wet environments. These colonies can grow to monumental size, sometimes covering entire habitats, such as an entire garden or your whole back yard. These ants do not pose a health threat except to the extent where they contaminate food by leaving their bodily waste behind.
There are several preventative steps that can be taken to help eliminate Argentine Ants. One was is to eliminate standing water as this attracts all kinds of pests including ants, mosquitoes and termites. Next, keep tree branches and other plants cut back away from the house. Make sure there are no cracks or little openings around the bottom of your house. Do not store firewood and materials are mot stored next the house. It is important to the staff at Sugar Land Chiropractors that they take measures to ensure that the ants do not infiltrate the clinic. Another type of ants are Carpenter ants. These ants get their name because they build their nests in wood. These ants can cause significant damage to a house. There are many types of carpenter ants that live throughout the United States. These ants can measure in size from one-quarter of an inch to three-quarters of an inch.
Each colony is established by a single, fertilized queen. The queen stars her nest in a cavity in wood. This is she raises her first broad of workers. The queen feeds them saliva and does not leave the nest or feed herself during this time. When the workers are ready, they start gathering food to feed the next generation. Once the workers are matured, this first generation of worker ants work to increase the food supply for the colony. The colony population grows very rapidly. It is amazing to Sugar Land Chiropractors that a colony can actually grow so rapidly. A colony can eventually produce 2,000 or more workers.
Carpenter ants do not eat the wood they remove when they are building their nest. However, they deposit the moved wood outside entrances to the colony in small piles. The diet of a carpenter ants includes living and dead insects, meat, fats and sugary foods of all kinds, including honeydew and nectar from plants.
Carpenter ants do not carry disease. These ants dig smooth tunnels inside the wood. These tunnels weaken the wood and potentially damage the wood that keeps the house standing. This kind of damage to a home can be very expenses to repair. In order to help eliminate these ants one should make sure there is not standing water. Also, keep tree branches and other plants cut back from the house. Next make sure that there are no cracks or openings around the bottoms of your house.
Ted imported fire ants are more aggressive than other ant species and have a very painful sting. These ants and their telltale mound nests should be actively avoided. Red imported fire ants can adapt to many climates and conditions. These ants primarily feed on vegetation. They build their nests in mounds of soil. Their sting is very painful and often results in a raised welt that become a white blister. Persons allergic to insect stings will react more severely than other.