Continuing our series of random facts, we have chosen to focus on a species with whom we share our planet, and which is remarkably similar to humans in many ways.
Of course, we are referring to the humble ant. Well, actually, not so humble when you really get to know them. The first interesting aspect to take note of is that there are considerably more of them than there are of us. It is estimated that there around one million ants for each human being – so we are well and truly outnumbered!
And they’ve been around a heck of a long time – around 300 million years – while we have only been on earth for 130,000 years. And, if you thought that all ants are the same, you’d be wrong; there are an estimated 22,000 different species.
Ants live in highly organized colonies that can vary from a few dozen to several millions. The structure of the large colonies is a mixture of sterile wingless females who form the “worker”and “soldier”castes.
Then there are the “queen ants”- who are fertile – and male “drones” who spend their energies on fertilising them. Ants appear to collectively work together to support the colony.
Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an ability to solve complex problems; they exist on almost every landmass on Earth, except Antarctica.
We can learn much from the way ants live. The females do the work, produce offspring, and protect the colony. The males only have to “service” the queens.
Since they have been around considerably longer than we have, perhaps they have learned from experience that their way of living is the best. Should we envy them?
So, now you know something about ants, here are a few more random facts to add to your knowledge:
- Ants can lift and carry more than 50 times there own weight.
- There are nearly as many species of ants as there are species of birds in the world.
- Worker ants may live seven years and the queen may live as long as 15 years.
- The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
- For more than 3,000 years, Carpenter ants have been used to close wounds in India, Asia, and South America.
- An ant can survive underwater for up to two days.
- A leaf-cutter ant queen mates only once – just before establishing a new colony. She can then keep the sperm viable for up to 15 years and produce as many as 300 million offspring.
Now that you have read our random facts about ants, would you – given the choice – rather be a person or an ant? Your answer probably depends upon whether you are male or female.
But you can tell us simply by using our comments feed below.
