What are ants?
Ants are close relatives of bees, wasps and are classed as skinny insects. There are 10,000 species of ants in the worldwide, but only 25 species that normally infect humans. Ants can be identified by their three separate parts: abdomen, head, and the thorax. They also have an antenna.
Ants generally eat any food but are especially attracted to sweet food. They can live for several months to several years. These are social insects because they particularly live in colonies and large groups. Depending on the types, ants’ colonies may have millions of ants. Control Pest Management are experts at detecting these colonies.
Their colonies may exist underground, in trees, and ground-level mounds. In their colonies, there are three types of ants: female workers, the queen, and males. The head of the colony is the queen. The central role of the queen in life is to lay thousands of eggs which will provide for the survival of their community.
Size and lifespan of ants
The size of an adult ranges from 6-12 mm in length. Different types range in size from 0.75-52 mm. The most abundant species of ant is Titanomyrmagiganteum. The queen of this type is 6 centimetres, which is 2.4 inches long with the wings of 15 centimetres (5.9 in). The queen driver ants are the most dominant ants in the world.
Depending on the different species, the lifespan of the black ants is 1 to 15 years, and the pharaoh ant lives from 1 month to 1 year.
Male Ants-Adult male ants die after mating with the female and lives only for a few days.
Queen Ants-It is the longest living member of the ant’s colony; these are the eggs laying ants of the colony. Queen ants lay millions of eggs in their life; they mate with the adult males.
Worker Ants-These are the ants that do most of the work in the colony such as taking care of eggs. Plus they support and maintain the colony. They live only for a few days to several months. These are the non-reproductive female ants of the colony. Control Pest Management can deal with all the different species and types of ants.
Why do I have Little black ants?
Little black ants can be found in vast areas such as under stones, logs, lawns and timbers. They build their nests in loose soil. They are mostly attracted to humans because of greasy food, peanut butter, proteins, meat, crumbs, fruit, oils, and candy.
Outdoor tiny black ants live on eating honeydew, other insects and pollen. Due to their small size, they quickly get access to enter houses and destroy different commercial materials and packaging. Black ants are shiny black and up to 2mm long.
Some Facts About Ants
- Ants hear by censors, and they feel a vibration through his legs from the ground. Ants generally don’t have ears.
- They usually fight to the death.
- The female Queen have wings which they drop when they start a new community.
- Ants don’t have lungs, they intake oxygen through small holes all over the body and dispel carbon dioxide through the same hole.
- After the death of the colony’s queen, the colony can live only for a few months. It is rare to replace the queen as workers are the non-reproductive members of the community.
- There are more than 10,000 different species found all over the world.
- Some of the Queen ants live for several years and lay millions of eggs.
- The Queen can only lay eggs When the queen grows to an adult, she spends the rest of her life laying eggs.
- Depending on their species, ants can carry about 50 to 100 times the weight of their own body. Asian weaver ants can hold 100 times its own weight.
- The largest ant’s nest ever found was almost 6000 Km wide.
- A bullet ant’s bite is as painful as being shot by a bullet. The garden ant’s bite is also painful because they spray formic acid with its bite.
- When the environmental conditions are humid and warm, winged female and male take part in the nuptial flight.
- The male adult usually spends most of his time in mating with the female ants. A male adult dies after mating with the queen or lives from a few days to several months.
How to Get Rid of ants?
- Exclude all the standing water around your house as ants, mosquitos, and termites are mostly attracted to moist environments.
- Keep plants, and other tree branches cut back from your house. Ants and some other insects will sometimes use these plants and branches to get access into the home.
- Make it clear that there are no little openings and paths from the bottom of the house. Ants and other insects can use this to get into the house.
- Keep your washroom and kitchens clear.
- Repair all cracks and openings such as torn doors and holes in windows.
- Store food in airtight packets and containers.
- Don’t leave food crumbs on the floor and immediately vacuum spills.
