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Ants |
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Ants are social insects. There are many different kinds that come in different sizes and are located in different places. Ants' bodies definitely narrow between the thorax and abdomen. They have strong bites.
There are three kinds of ants in a colony: a queen, males and workers. The queens and males have wings while the workers don't. When the males and females mate, they fly up in the air and the male deposits huge numbers of sperm cells in the female. They then return to earth where the female tears off her wings and starts laying eggs. The males die soon after the mating.
An ant colony has many queens who all get on well. An ant colony also has soldier ants that defend the colony. If they defeat another ant colony, they take away the larvae and pupae of the defeated ant colony. These ants later become the slave ants for the colony, doing many jobs. Some jobs of the colony include taking care of the larvae and pupae, gathering food for the colony and building the anthills or mounds.
Some ants even have little "cows" called aphids, another type of insect. The ants care for the aphids during the winter. When the aphids go out during the spring, they feed on plants. The ants in turn stroke the aphids and the aphids give the ants a sweet liquid which the ants drink. Thus the aphids almost act like cows do for humans, giving a liquid for the ants.
Ants undergo complete metamorphosis. Their eggs are minute and usually white. The larvae have no legs and the pupae spin cocoons.
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