The anthill only looks like a bunch of twigs and needles, but inside there is a whole “ant city”.
Inside, an underground gallery leads to chambers that are interconnected. The depth of the nests varies from 30 cm to 2 m, and for desert ants it reaches more than 10 m. Sometimes ants also settle in rotten wood: stumps, logs.
The dome of the nest consists of needles of twigs - it has a protective function, it protects from rain, wind, snow. Inside, the dome consists of large branches, where a constant temperature of 26-29 o C is maintained. And the ants hibernate in the underground part.
In deserts, where the ground warms up to 60 o C, ants never build above-ground nests, only underground, where the temperature is much lower.
Each adult resident of the anthill has his own “profession”, each ant has his own job. Just like people, ants have a highly organized structure of their anthill city. For example, an anthill has its own kindergarten, where educators work and regularly take young children out into the fresh air.
The anthill also has its own hospitals, where doctors, for example, surgeons, work. And if one of their residents injured a limb, that is, an arm or a leg, then surgeons amputate it (gnaw it off).
There are ants that build, clean and protect the anthill - these are working ants.
Also, in the ant family there are necessarily “guardians” of nectar. They are needed in that unforeseen case if there is a famine in the anthill and the working ants can no longer obtain food.
1. Covering of needles and twigs. Protects the home from the vicissitudes of the weather, repaired and updated by working ants.
2. “Solarium” - a chamber heated by the rays of the sun. In the spring, the inhabitants come here to warm themselves.
3. One of the entrances. Guarded by soldiers. Serves as a ventilation duct.
4. "Cemetery". Worker ants carry dead ants and garbage here.
5. Wintering chamber. Insects gather here to survive the cold in a state of semi-hibernation.
6. “Bread barn.” This is where ants store grains.
7. The royal chamber, where the queen lives, laying up to one and a half thousand eggs per day. She is looked after by worker ants.
8. Chambers with eggs, larvae and pupae.
9. "Cowshed" where ants keep aphids.
10. “Meat pantry”, where foragers bring caterpillars and other prey.
The queen of the ants is the queen, a sexually mature female. She needs wings, in fact, only to find a male. Males and females of ants fly quite poorly. Ants are not able to fly directly from the ground. They rise gradually, first flying onto blades of grass, then onto branches of bushes, then trees, and only then, from a sufficient height, they begin to fly. However, some drones are capable of taking off directly from the ground.
After fertilization, the female sheds her wings - she no longer needs them. The queen is capable of founding a new anthill. To do this, she digs out a small underground corridor, where she subsequently lays eggs. Sometimes several females organize a colony at once. After this, a difficult period begins in the life of the uterus. Until her daughters grow up, she has to starve while feeding the larvae. But when the first workers appear, she will begin to live like a real queen: her daughters will provide her with a well-fed existence. By the way, it is interesting that males hatch from unfertilized eggs.
Among ants there is also such a phenomenon as usurpation of power. So, for example, the queen of red ants cannot build an anthill herself. Therefore, she finds an “orphaned” family of ants of another species and replaces the dead queen. Naturally, red ants will hatch from the eggs laid by it, and the old colony will be virtually enslaved.
The structure of the “social life” of an anthill is even more complex than the structure of life in a hive. Ants are a lot like people. For example, slavery is common in some species. Ants attack someone else's anthill and steal the pupae. Having then grown up in someone else's anthill, the captives work for its benefit. It would seem, what kind of slavery, when the unfortunate workers do nothing but selflessly work for the benefit of the queen and the males all their lives. But usually ants work for the prosperity of their own species and their own colony. By the way, huge Amazon ants specialize only in “military actions”: only stolen slaves work for the benefit of the anthill.
There is a more sophisticated way to seize power. There are species of ants whose female can literally charm ants of another species. She comes to a foreign colony, and the workers simply give her their own queen to be torn to pieces, and subsequently serve the guest.
There are more peaceful activities in the life of ants. For example, many species have mastered “cattle breeding.” They guard and breed aphids or cicadas. Some species are “nomadic,” constantly moving and driving “herds” of aphids with them. Some ants have also mastered agriculture - they grow mushrooms.
Of all insects, ants are considered the most hardworking and hardy. Their dedication to family and work still amazes people. After all, there is a lot to learn from such small and fragile creatures. Ants live in colonies and each has its own strictly defined job and responsibility. How does life work in an anthill?
Ants always choose a place for an anthill and materials for their house carefully. The anthill itself consists of an above-ground part and an underground nest. On top it is covered with twigs and needles, which protect the home from bad weather. And even if it looks unattractive in appearance, there is a whole town inside.
Entrances and exits serve not only to enter and exit, but also perfectly ventilate the room. The strongest and large ants guard the entrance to the anthill, covering it with their body. Before it rains, the entrance is closed to ensure that all passages and chambers remain dry.
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This is usually the upper chamber, or room. Due to its location, it heats up very quickly and ants come here to warm themselves. And in the spring, they can spread heat on their bodies, warming up the entire anthill.
If you go lower down the anthill, you may stumble upon piles of dead ants and garbage. All this is put into a separate cell, which is not very deep and not far from the ventilation.
Like bears, ants also hibernate to survive the harsh cold. For this they need their own den. Usually it is located somewhere in the middle of the anthill.
Ants store plant seeds in storage in case they cannot find food for themselves. Some ants take care of the food and even take it out into the sun to dry it.
The queen of ants, the queen, lives in the royal chambers. Usually she is also the first resident in her colony. The queen very rarely leaves the anthill. The whole point of her life is to lay eggs.
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These are chambers in which eggs, larvae and pupae are stored. Nannies are nearby all the time, because the larvae need food and round-the-clock supervision. They move them up or down the anthill depending on the weather, trying to always keep them warm and in the required humidity.
The place where all the most nutritious things are located. This is where the ants store caterpillars and other food they have caught.
During its life, an ant can perform only one job, and can even change with other ants. But he carries out any assignment with great precision and dedication. Works requiring large physical activity, more often performed by young and hardy ants.
Many of us love everything unusual and interesting. Not long ago, a video of an anthill being filled with liquid lead or another alloy became popular. Agree, it’s interesting what will happen if an anthill is filled with molten aluminum.
They say it will turn out to be a very unusual sculpture, simply a work of art. After all, the liquid metal will run through all the ant passages and paths that go deep underground. Sometimes the depth of such a dwelling can reach several floors. And how many secluded corners there are! And all this beauty can be seen in the sample. Afterwards you can put it on your shelf or give it to someone. You can’t buy such a souvenir in any store.
However, before you see what happens if you pour aluminum into an anthill, it’s worth thinking about what harm you can cause to nature.
Before you begin, make sure that the anthill you are going to use is truly abandoned and abandoned. After all, ants are also living beings, and it’s not worth killing the poor things just to see what happens if you pour aluminum into an anthill. You're not that cruel, are you? And ants don’t do anything wrong to warrant being treated so badly.
After you are convinced of this, carefully cut off the top of the anthill with a shovel, try to do it as evenly as possible and close to the surface of the earth. Remove excess grass and leaves around the prepared hole to ensure fire safety. And carefully, evenly distributing the liquid metal over the entire surface, begin pouring. Be very careful with hot, molten alloy. Give the aluminum time to harden, and soon you will also know what will happen if you pour aluminum into an anthill.
Well, several hours passed, the molten aluminum had time to solidify. This is very important both for obtaining a sculpture and to avoid getting burned. Now you can start digging out the resulting material. Do this carefully, trying not to damage the edges of the “art object”. Aluminum is a very soft metal, and ant tunnels are not too thick and can be easily cut off with a shovel.
That's it, a piece of molten aluminum has been dug out. Now it must be thoroughly rinsed with water. Otherwise, it will be an incomprehensible lump of earth and metal. It's best to do this running water with good but not too strong pressure. Try not to leave an ounce of soil, wash every bend. Then let it drain excess water- and that’s it, the unusual art object is ready.
Now you know what will happen if you pour aluminum into an anthill.
