All ants live in social groups.but ant colonies vary greatly.In adapting to almost every environment on earth ,ants estimated with many different ways of life.Some species from colonies containing only a queen,a dozen or so workers,and a few males.In such colonies all the ants look much alike and may share jobs.At the other extreme,a colony of african drivers ants may have upto 100 queens laying eggs continously and as many as 22 million workers.They cooperate so well that the colony seems almost like a superorganism' a single huge living thing.Many complex colonies contain several specialized kind of workers ,each doing a different job.
*Storage:
Desert-dwelling honey ants gather nectar and carry it back to the nest in their crops.Some workers become living honeypots,storing liquid food in their greatly distended abdomens.They hang from the roof of their nest and let ordinary workers feed from them during periods of drought.
*Slavemaker:
Several ant species, such as those of Polyergus genus,capture the young of other ants to raise and keep as servants.Some species of so called slavemakers can not survive without their captives to feed them and care for their young.
*Stitchers:
Most ants nest underground but some build high in the trees.First living bridges of ants pull leaves together.Then workers sew the leaves.using larvae to lay down threads of the same silk they spin for cocoons.
*Farmers:
Leaf-cutting ants grow their food in huge underground nest.workers cut bits of leaves and carry them to the nest,where they compost leaves and dropping.A special fungus grows on the compost.All life stages eat only this fungus.
*Warriors:
Australian bulldog ants,more than 2 and a half centimetres long with huge jaws,bits and hold on while they jab with a stinger over half a centimetre long.They can jump neary 30 cemtimetres while protecting a nest or chasing prey.Their colonies contain no more than 2000 ants and the queens receive no special attention.
*Storage:
Desert-dwelling honey ants gather nectar and carry it back to the nest in their crops.Some workers become living honeypots,storing liquid food in their greatly distended abdomens.They hang from the roof of their nest and let ordinary workers feed from them during periods of drought.
*Slavemaker:
Several ant species, such as those of Polyergus genus,capture the young of other ants to raise and keep as servants.Some species of so called slavemakers can not survive without their captives to feed them and care for their young.
*Stitchers:
Most ants nest underground but some build high in the trees.First living bridges of ants pull leaves together.Then workers sew the leaves.using larvae to lay down threads of the same silk they spin for cocoons.
*Farmers:
Leaf-cutting ants grow their food in huge underground nest.workers cut bits of leaves and carry them to the nest,where they compost leaves and dropping.A special fungus grows on the compost.All life stages eat only this fungus.
*Warriors:
Australian bulldog ants,more than 2 and a half centimetres long with huge jaws,bits and hold on while they jab with a stinger over half a centimetre long.They can jump neary 30 cemtimetres while protecting a nest or chasing prey.Their colonies contain no more than 2000 ants and the queens receive no special attention.
