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Hi, everyone! Welcome to Bug Talk. I’m
your host Ryan Haynes and I am here to
tell you what you need to know about
ants.
The first thing you need to know about
ants is there are over 12,000 different
species. Ants are a diverse group and
can vary in size and shape. Ants can
survive in a number of different habitats.
These tiny creatures can be found
across the globe. In fact, Antarctica and
a few remote islands are the only known
places where ants are not able to
survive.
Despite their tiny size, ants can carry
objects 10-50 times their body weight.
That would be the human equivalent of
lifting a car! Although most species of
ants can bite and are considered a
nuisance, ants play an important role in
ecosystems around the world. Ants
disperse seeds, aerate soil and are
even predators to a variety of insect
pests.
Ants have a complex social structure
and live in colonies. Colonies consist of
a few dozen ants to millions of
individuals. Ant colonies consist of a
queen, male ants and female workers.
The queen can live up to 15 years in
certain species but worker ants typically
live for a few months. Some workers
can live a few years. Pheromones are
the chemicals ants use to communicate,
leaving scent trails for others to follow.
Pheromone trails can be used to help
guide other ants to food sources. When
threatened, alarm pheromones will
serve as a warning to other ants.
Many people do not realize ants are
omnivorous, meaning they eat both
plants and animals. Ants are experts in
building. Their nest construction will
include elaborate underground tunnels
in trees and other areas. The
underground tunnels can be vast and
complex. Ant mounds are what most
people notice.
Each type of ant inside the colony will
have very specific jobs to do. The
primary job of the queen is to reproduce.
Most ant colonies only have one queen
but in some there can be many. Workers
are sterile females and they are
responsible for the majority of the tasks
inside of the colony. Tasks for workers
can include foraging, caring for the
young, maintaining the nest and
defending the colony. Male ants will
mate with the queen during the mating
flight and usually die shortly after.
Tasks inside the colony are allocated by
need. For example, when a colony is
under threat the colony workers will
focus on defending the nest. In times
where food is low the focus will shift to
foraging.
Ants are remarkable creatures and can
easily adjust to their surroundings.
However, as diverse as these creatures
are, many homeowners do not want an
ant colony thriving in or near their home.
Here in Florida we have a variety of
ants. Some examples include, fire ants,
argentine, carpenter, pharaoh, ghost
ants to name a few.
With such a variety of ants capable of
creating issues for homeowners it is
important to have a plan in place to
manage ants. If you are seeing signs of
ants in or around your home contact a
professional to solve the problem fast.
Since ants are so diverse, having a pest
professional identify and properly treat
ants will help keep your home ant free.
Thank you for joining us today. Here at
Haynes Pest Control we make taking
care of bug problems easy. Call and ask
about our Pest Control 360 program
where less than a dollar a day keeps the
bugs away. Remember, if it crawls or
fly’s we’re your guys!