Ants are among the most prevalent pests in households. They are also found in restaurants, hospitals, offices, warehouses and other buildings where they find food and water. Most ants can bite with their pincer-like jaws (few actually do and some have venomous stings).
Ants belong to the insect order Hymenoptera and are close relatives of bees and wasps. Ants, like many other hymenopterans, are social insects with duties divided among different types, or castes, of adult individuals. Queens conduct the reproductive functions of a colony, laying eggs and participating in feeding and grooming. Sterile female workers gather food, feed, and care for the larvae, build tunnels, and defend the colony.
Workers are not always the same size in a given species as in the case of the black carpenter ant. Larger workers with well-developed mandibles are called soldiers. Males do not participate in colony activities; their only apparent purpose is to mate with the queens, after which the male dies. The male is generally winged and keeps its wings until death. Males are usually larger than workers, but smaller than the female reproductives. Few in number, males are fed and cared for by the workers.
In addition, their antennae are elbow wed, meaning that each antennae looks like an arm bent at the elbow. Fully winged adult ants are often confused with swarmer termites, but they can readily be differentiated based on the following:
1. Ants have elbowed antennae and termites have straight, beadlike antennae.
2. Ants have pinched waist lines, while the bodies of termites are virtually the same width from end to end (or termites have broad waists).
3. The front wings of ants are longer than their rear wings, while both pairs of wings of termites are about the same length.
Life cycle of the ant Ants have complete metamorphosis thus the development stages are egg, larva, pupa and adult. The eggs are extremely small and vary in shape according to species. Upon hatching a soft, legless larva is produced. After feeding and passing through several molts, the larvae pupate. The pupa resembles the adult, but it is soft, white and does not move or feed. The adult may require a few days to attain complete maturity after emerging from the pupal stage.
Six to eight weeks or more are required for development from egg to the adult stage depending on the species and climatic conditions. Ants require water for drinking and will travel some distance for it if necessary. This is frequently the reason for finding ants in kitchens or bathrooms of residences or commercial buildings. Ants that invade homes and buildings include 11 imported fire ants may be occasional indoor pests.
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