Fire ants are a very common type of these insects. Its varieties live almost all over the world, and they simply spread from space speed... These are the most dangerous ants in the world, and their bite can be fatal.
Who are fire ants, what they look like, where they live and how dangerous are they - this article will tell you.
What does an insect look like
In all my life fiery sight Murashi lives in four stages:
- egg;
- larva;
- chrysalis;
- an adult.
The photo shows the larva of a red fire ant, which, unlike an adult, white, is absolutely immobile. Accordingly, she cannot get her own food. The larva is completely on the provision of working ants, until the moment when it gains the necessary weight and acquires the size to turn into a pupa.
The day before turning into a pupa, the larva stops consuming food and completely empties the intestines. Workers find for the chrysalis suitable conditions, serve it until the birth of a new ant from it.
Adult ants, judging by the photo, are not large in size. Their body length is two to six millimeters, and depends on where the insect lives. It is surprising that individuals, both the smallest and the largest, can be in one nest. Fire ants, despite being called red ants, can range in color from dark red to brown. At the same time, the abdomen in adults is almost black. The goosebump body consists of a head, chest, abdomen, and it also has six legs, which are very strong and powerful.
Features of the insect
Like any living creature on Earth, these insects have their own characteristics:
- insects of this species are omnivorous, can equally successfully consume food of animal and plant origin. Herbaceous plants make up their diet, large insects, larvae, caterpillars. Also, these insects feed on small mammals - mice, snakes, lizards. The remains of large animals can also get to them for lunch;
- do not differ from their relatives - they also build anthills as soon as it is time to have offspring. Often insects make their nests in human dwellings;
- the hunt for them is a whole war game... The victim is attacked rapidly. Murashi climb on it, dig into the skin, and then inject their sting. In a calm state, the sting is not visible, since it hides in the abdomen. Through the sting, it is injected into the victim's body a large number of strong poison. If the dose is too large, then the victim dies after a while. If it is small, then the victim will remain alive, but the bite site will be very painful for a long time;
- these insects are excellent at swimming, as floods very often occur where they live. To escape from such natural Disasters, the ants have developed a special tactic that allows them to save their family from flooding. They build rafts from their own bodies and can thus float on the water for quite some time. How does this happen? A group of ants lay down on top of the water, strongly interlocking with each other by their jaws. The floating design is highly durable and very flexible. The rest of the individuals from the anthill can only get on the raft from their comrades.
In order to figure out who the fire ants are, you should Special attention give to the uterus. The queen is the queen of the anthill, she is engaged all her life in laying eggs in large quantities. Due to its fertility, the colony can be replenished with new individuals very quickly. The queen of these insects is much larger in size than other ants. She lives in an anthill, but never goes outside.
There are several queens in the colony, and each of them is capable of laying up to thirty eggs a day. Their size is very small - it reaches no more than half a millimeter. After a week, larvae emerge from the eggs, and after another two, the larvae turn into pupae.
Habitat
These ants appeared in Brazil and then, with the beginning of the development of sea routes, spread throughout the world. Today, their habitat includes Mexico, the United States of America, the Caribbean Islands, China, Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Since by sea these insects were brought to other countries, Agriculture and the animal world of these countries has suffered greatly. Especially this species of dangerous ants fell in love with the United States, or rather their endless southern territories.
The bites of fire ants are so strong that several billion dollars are spent annually on medical and veterinary services from the national budget. The government spends about the same amount to exterminate them. For this purpose, the most infested areas were inhabited by humpback flies, which perfectly exterminate ants, the dead bodies of which fly larvae use as a safe refuge. 
Why are they dangerous:
- First of all, its aggressiveness, as well as the ability to instantly adapt to new conditions, reproduce quickly and most negatively affect the flora and fauna of the region.
- Fire ants are also dangerous to the human body. They were called fiery because their poison causes sensations akin to a thermal burn. If there is a danger of attack, they immediately rush into the attack, and it does not matter who is in front of them - an animal or a person. They instantly climb on a potential offender, begin to sting him, literally piercing with their sting and injecting a portion of the poison. According to statistics, the bites of these insects kill more than thirty people every year.
- They do not know fear of anyone. They are able to create their nests anywhere - in the forest or human dwellings, household appliances, rubbish bins. Modern chemicals unable to cope with their hordes, so it is easier for the inhabitants of South American countries to move to another place than to try to eradicate these insects. After all the above facts, it becomes clear why these ants are dangerous.
Reproduction of insects
Before the breeding season begins, scout ants go in search of new territory, where there is food and the possibility of building a new anthill. As soon as the place is found, the colony begins to settle, and young females and males go on a flight to mate.
Insects have unique feature- they multiply by cloning. For breeding offspring, they do not have to use individuals of the opposite sex at all. Their services are resorted to only when it is required to produce sterile individuals - future males and females. Thus, the uterus can reproduce new members of the anthill alone, without attracting males. The uterus of red ants is very fertile, can lay up to two hundred and fifty thousand eggs in a lifetime.
Some ants, in order to get offspring, do not build any anthills, but use warm and humid dwellings of freshwater ones for this, driving out adults from there and eating newborn babies.
Killer ant species
In spite of horror stories, killer fire ants and their species are not so widespread around the planet. However, they are. Therefore, in order to figure it out, you need to find out what types of these insects exist:
- nomadic fire ants reapers live mainly on the black continent and South America. This type of insect does not build anthills, but prefers to breed on temporary structures in the form of a ball, created from the bodies of worker ants. In appearance, such a form may seem hoatic, but in it, as in the classic anthill, everything is subject to a strict order. Nomadic reapers got their name for the fact that they constantly roam from place to place in search of food. The soldier ants are very large, can reach up to one and a half centimeters in length. However, the largest is the uterus of this species - its body length reaches five centimeters. Today it is considered the largest of all ants in existence. Nomadic ants do not kill anyone, but they can sting very hard, causing a terrible allergy. As a rule, nomadic ants feed on small freshwater birds and baby birds;
- bullet ant is another representative of the fire, living in South America. These ants are so named because their bites are so painful that they feel like a moderate chemical burn. Their venom contains a very powerful toxin. The pain after a bite may not go away for a whole day. If you conduct research and compare the sensations after a bite on the Schmidt scale, then the level of pain reaches the fourth level, which is higher than all other insect bites. Representatives of this species are also very large. Working ants grow up to two and a half centimeters, and the uterus - up to three centimeters;
- Bulldog ants are among the most poisonous species of ants. These killer ants are capable of striking human body, cause not only acute allergies, but also lead to death. According to statistics, death from the bites of bulldog ants occurs much more often than from the bites of other predators.
The most unpredictable moment is that the human body can react to the poison of this insect in the most unexpected way. Even resistant to the bites of other insects, a person can die from a bulldog ant bite. There is a version that the very strong toxicity of this species is associated with its evolutionary primitiveness.
Thus, fire ants are really special kind insects that can not only survive in the most extreme conditions, but also destroy all living things around them. If they settle in a human dwelling, then it is very difficult to remove them, even if the nest is found and the uterus is destroyed. And since there are several queens in the colony of fire, their number will soon be restored. You can get acquainted and open the veil of the secrets of the life of these insects by watching the video presented.
The millions of insect species that live on earth today play a critical role in the ecosystem of our planet. While most of them are safe, some can cause a lot of trouble for humans, and some can be poisonous and even deadly. From familiar ants and flies to more exotic beetles, here's a list of the 25 most dangerous insects in the world.
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1. Termites
Termites do not pose a direct danger to humans, play an important role for the environment, moreover, in some cultures they are even eaten. But at the same time, baby termites can cause tremendous damage to infrastructure, sometimes making houses completely uninhabitable.
3. Black-footed tick
Each year, the black-footed tick infects thousands of people with Lyme disease, which begins with a rash around a bite that resembles a bull's eye. Early symptoms of this condition include headache and fever. WITH further development the victim begins to suffer from problems with the cardiovascular system. Few die from these bites, but the effects can continue for years after an unpleasant encounter with a tick.
4. Nomadic ants
The first creature on our list that is literally dangerous are roaming ants, known for their predatory aggression. Unlike other ant species, roaming ants do not build their own permanent nests. Instead, they create colonies that migrate from one place to another. These predators move constantly throughout the day, hunting insects and small vertebrates. In fact, the entire colony combined can kill more than half a million insects and small animals in one day.
Most wasps are not particularly dangerous, but certain species, such as the German wasp North America, grows large and can be incredibly aggressive. If they sense danger or notice an invasion of their territory, they can sting repeatedly and very painfully. They will tag their aggressors and, in some cases, pursue them.
6. Black Widow
Although the sting of a female black widow spider can be very dangerous to humans due to the neurotoxins released during the bite, if the necessary medical attention is provided in time, the consequences of the bite will be limited to only some pain. Unfortunately, isolated cases of death from a black widow bite did occur.
7. Hairy caterpillar of the Coquette Moth
The caterpillars of the Coquette Moth Megalopyge opercularis look cute and fluffy, but don't be fooled by their cartoonish appearance: they are extremely venomous.
Usually people believe that the hairs themselves are stinging, but in reality the poison is excreted through the thorns hidden in this "wool". The thorns are extremely brittle and remain in the skin after being touched. The poison causes a burning sensation around the affected area, headache, dizziness, vomiting, sharp abdominal pain, lymph node involvement and sometimes respiratory arrest.
8. Cockroaches
The cockroach is known as a carrier of many diseases that are dangerous to humans. The main danger of living together with cockroaches is that they climb into toilets, garbage cans and other places where bacteria accumulate, as a result, are their carriers. Cockroaches can cause many diseases, from worms and dysentery to tuberculosis and typhoid. Cockroaches can carry fungi, unicellular organisms, bacteria and viruses. And so fun fact- they can live for many months without food or water.
10. Bed bugs
A person does not directly feel the bite itself, since an anesthetic substance is included in the saliva of the bug. If the bug from the first time could not get to the blood capillary, it can bite a person several times. At the site of the bug bite, severe itching begins, and a blister may also appear. Occasionally, people are faced with a severe allergic reaction to a bug bite. Fortunately, 70 percent of people experience virtually no repercussions from them.
Bed bugs are household insects and do not belong to the group of carriers of infectious diseases, however, in their body they can retain pathogens that transmit infections through the blood for a long time, for example, viral hepatitis B; pathogens of plague, tularemia, and Q-fever can also persist. They cause the greatest harm to people with their bites, taking away normal rest and sleep from a person, which subsequently can negatively affect moral health and performance.
11. Human gadfly
12. Centipede
The centipede (Scutigera coleoptrata) is an insect that is also called the flycatcher, presumably originated in the Mediterranean. Although other sources speak of Mexico. The centipede has become very common throughout the world. Although the appearance of such insects is unattractive, they generally perform useful work, as they eat other pests and even spiders. True, with entomophobia (fear of insects), such an argument will not help. Usually people kill them because of an unpleasant appearance although in some southern countries centipedes are even guarded.
The flycatcher is a predator, they inject poison into the victim and then kill it. Flycatchers often live in apartments without harming food or furniture. They love moisture, often centipedes can be found in basements, under baths, in toilets. Flycatchers live from 3 to 7 years, newborns have only 4 pairs of legs, increasing them by one with each new molt.
Usually the bite of such an insect is not alarming for humans, although it can be comparable to a small bee sting. For some, it may even be painful, but usually the matter is limited to tears. Of course, centipedes are not insects that are responsible for thousands of deaths, but many of us will be surprised to learn that someone dies from these bites every year. The fact is that an allergic reaction to insect venom is possible, but this still happens extremely rarely.
13. Black scorpion
Although scorpions do not belong to insects, since they belong to the order of arthropods from the class of arachnids, we still included them in this list, especially since black scorpions are the most dangerous species scorpions. Most of them live in South Africa, especially often they can be found in desert areas. Black scorpions are distinguished from other species by their thick tails and slender legs. Black scorpions sting, injecting poison into their prey, which can cause pain, paralysis and even death of a person.
14. Predator
15. Bullet Ant
Paraponera clavata is a species of large tropical ants from the genus Paraponera Smith and the subfamily Paraponerinae (Formicidae), which have a strong sting. This ant is called a bullet for the reason that bite victims compare it to a pistol shot.
A person bitten by such an ant can feel throbbing and relentless pain for 24 hours after the bite. In some local Indian tribes (Satere-Mawe, Maue, Brazil), these ants are used in very painful rites of initiation of boys to adulthood(leading to temporary paralysis and even blackening of stung fingers). In the course of studying the chemical composition of the poison, a paralyzing neurotoxin (peptide) called poneratoxin was isolated from it.
16. Brazilian wandering spider
Also known as Phoneutria, Brazilian wandering spiders are venomous creatures that live in tropical South America and Central America... In the 2010 Guinness Book of Records, this type of spider was named the most venomous spider in the world.
The venom of this genus contains a powerful neurotoxin known as PhTx3. In lethal concentration, this neurotoxin causes loss of muscle control and breathing problems, leading to paralysis and eventually suffocation. The bite is moderately painful, the poison causes an instant infection of the lymphatic system, getting into the bloodstream in 85% of cases leads to heart failure. Patients feel rigor mortis during life, men sometimes have priapism. There is an antidote that is equally used with antibiotics, but due to the severity of the poisonous harm to the body, the detoxification procedure is actually equal to the victim's chance of survival.
17. Malaria mosquito
18. Rat fleas
19. African honey bee
African bees (also known as killer bees) are descendants of bees brought from Africa to Brazil in the 1950s while trying to improve honey production in that country. Some African queens began to interbreed with native European bees. The resulting hybrids moved north and are still found in Southern California today.
African bees look the same and in most cases behave like the European bees that currently live in the United States. They can only be detected by DNA analysis. Their stings are also no different from those of a normal bee. One very important difference between the two species is the defensive behavior of African bees, which is shown when defending their nest. In some attacks in South America, African bees have killed livestock and people. This behavior earned the AMPs the nickname “killer bees”.
Moreover, this type of bee is known for behaving like an invader. Their swarms attack the hives of the honey bee by invading them and establishing your queen. They attack in large colonies and are ready to destroy anyone who encroaches on their womb.
Although fleas are not usually perceived as dangerous, fleas transmit numerous diseases between animals and humans. Throughout history, they have contributed to the spread of many diseases such as the bubonic plague.
21. Fire ants
Fire ants are several related ants from the group of species Solenopsis saevissima species-group of the genus Solenopsis, which have a strong sting and poison, whose action is similar to a flame burn (hence their name). More often, this name refers to the invasive red fire ant, which has spread throughout the world. There are known cases of one ant stinging a person with serious consequences, anaphylactic shock, and even death.
22. Brown Hermit Spider
The second spider on our list, the brown recluse, does not release neurotoxins like the black widow. Its bite destroys tissue and can cause damage that can take months to heal.
The bite very often goes unnoticed, but in most cases the sensation is similar to that of a needle prick. Then, within 2-8 hours, the pain makes itself felt. Further, the situation develops depending on the amount of poison that has entered the bloodstream. The venom of the brown recluse spider has a hemolytic effect, which means it causes necrosis and tissue destruction. The bite can be fatal for young children, the elderly and the sick.
23. Siafu ants
Siafu (Dorylus) - These nomadic ants are mainly found in East and Central Africa, but have also been found in tropical Asia. Insects live in colonies that can number up to 20 million individuals, all of them blind. They make their travels with the help of pheromones. The colony does not have a permanent place of residence, wandering from place to place. In the course of movement to feed the larvae, insects attack all invertebrates.
Among these ants there is a special group - soldiers. It is they who can sting, for which they use their hooked jaws, and the size of such individuals reaches 13 mm. The jaws of the soldiers are so strong that in some places in Africa they are even used to secure sutures. The wound can be closed for as long as 4 days. Usually, after a Siafu bite, the consequences are minimal, you don't even need to call a doctor. True, it is believed that young and old people are especially sensitive to the bites of such ants, deaths have been observed from complications after contact. As a result, annually, according to statistics, from 20 to 50 people die from these insects. This is facilitated by their aggressiveness, especially when protecting their colony, which a person can accidentally attack.
24. Giant Asian Bumblebee
Many of us have seen bumblebees - they seem rather small, and there is little reason to be afraid of them. Now imagine a bumblebee who grew up as if on steroids, or just look at an Asian giant. These hornets are the largest in the world - they can be up to 5 cm long and have a wingspan of 7.5 centimeters. The length of the sting in such insects can be up to 6 mm, but neither a bee nor a wasp can compare with such a bite, bumblebees, moreover, can sting repeatedly. You cannot find such dangerous insects in Europe or the USA, but traveling through East Asia and the mountains of Japan, you can meet with them. To understand the consequences of a bite, it is enough to listen to eyewitnesses. They compare the sensation of a bumblebee sting to a hot nail driven into the leg.
The poison of the sting has 8 different connections, which cause discomfort by damaging soft tissue and creating a scent that can attract new bumblebees to the victim. People who are allergic to bees can die from the reaction, but there have been deaths due to mandorotoxin poison, which can be dangerous if it gets deep enough into the body. It is believed that about 70 people die from such bites every year. Curiously, the sting is not the main hunting tool of bumblebees - they crush their enemies with large jaws.
25. Tsetse Fly
The tsetse fly lives in tropical and subtropical Africa, having chosen the Kalahari and Sahara deserts. Flies are carriers of trypanosomiasis, which cause sleeping sickness in animals and humans. Tsetse are anatomically very similar to their normal relatives - they can be distinguished by the proboscis on the front of the head and the special manner of folding the wings. It is the proboscis that allows you to get the main food - the blood of wild mammals in Africa. On this continent, there are 21 species of such flies, which in length can reach from 9 to 14 mm.
You should not consider flies so harmless for humans, because they really kill people, doing it quite often. It is believed that in Africa, up to 500 thousand people are infected with sleeping sickness, carried by this particular insect. The disease disrupts the activity of the endocrine and cardiac systems. Then amazed nervous system causing confusion and sleep disturbance. Fatigue is followed by hyperactivity.
The last major epidemic was recorded in Uganda in 2008, in general, the disease belongs to the list of forgotten in the WHO. However, in Uganda alone in the last 6 years from sleeping sickness died 200 thousand people. The disease is believed to be largely responsible for the deteriorating economic situation in Africa. It is curious that flies attack any warm object, even a car, but they do not attack a zebra, considering it only by flickering stripes. The tsetse flies also saved Africa from soil erosion and overgrazing caused by cattle.
The man invented different methods fight against these insects. In the 1930s, all wild pigs were exterminated on the west coast, but this gave a result only for 20 years. Now they are fighting by shooting wild animals, cutting down bushes and treating male flies with radiation in order to deprive them of the opportunity to reproduce.
Size doesn't always matter. There are a huge number of insects in the world that are much more dangerous than animals. Some insect bites can be fatal if not treated properly.
We bring to your attention the top 10 most dangerous insects in the world, as well as their photos.
The most dangerous insects in the world
Bullet Ant
The bullet ant is the largest of all ants in the world. They mainly live in the rainforests of Nicaragua and Paraguay. This species of ants got its name due to their strong bites, which, in pain, resemble a bullet shot. Scientists have been able to investigate that a bullet ant bite is 30 times more painful than a wasp bite.
Each colony of these ants has several hundred inhabitants. Usually, they build their nests at the base. big trees... When a predator is found, these ants release bad smell... If this trick does not drive away the intruder, they attack him practically with the whole colony.
Mostly gadflies are found in Central and South America. Young females of these insects lay larvae in the skin of mammals. The larvae take root under the skin and stay there for 60 days, affecting the subcutaneous zone.
Patients who go to doctors claim that they can feel the movement of the larvae. After the rim larva matures, it leaves the body.
There are about 2000 known species these insects. Young fleas can consume 15 times more blood than theirs total weight body. A favorite place for flea bites is the waist, elbows of a person. A flea bite causes severe itching and can lead to infection.
Fire ant
Now it is known about the existence of about 285 different types fire ants. They are very aggressive and, in case of danger, leave painful stings in the victim's body. A white pimple caused by a sting in the human body will give off painful sensations for several weeks.
Also, fire ant venom can lead to some skin problems. Usually, fire ants attack their victims in groups of 10 to 100 insects.
Triatom bug
About 12,000 people die every year from the "kisses" of triatom bugs in the world. Even the weakest bite of these insects instantly makes changes in the human and animal body, which cannot be eliminated without the help of doctors.
Giant japanese hornet
The giant Japanese hornet is the largest hornet species in the world. They grow to a size of 2 inches. About 40 deaths from the bites of these insects are recorded in the world every year.
The poison of the Japanese hornet causes an allergic reaction and burns the human skin at the site of the bite. With multiple bites of these insects, a person can die in just a few minutes.
Japanese hornets are very aggressive and fearless. Each colony of these insects contains 700 members. They feed on honeybee larvae, and they can kill about 40 large bees in just a minute.
Tsetse fly
Tsetse flies are among the most dangerous insects in Africa. They mainly feed on the blood of vertebrates, into whose body they inject a powerful toxin after the strongest bites of their victims. For some people and animals, the bites of these insects can even be deadly.
According to unofficial data of scientists, about half a million people are attacked annually by tsetse flies, of which about 20% are fatal.
At first, the poison of these insects induces drowsiness and severe weakness on its victim, and if the patient does not receive medical attention in time, he may die.
Africanized bee
These insects are also called "killer bees". They are among the most aggressive and dominant insects in the world. A group of Africanized bees are capable of chasing their prey over a distance of more than one mile. They usually attack in groups of several hundred individuals.
The toxin of Africanized bees is not as dangerous as it might seem at first glance, but they amaze victims with their numerical superiority. They mainly attack the face of a person, especially the eyes.
These insects live in large colonies, the number of which reaches 30 thousand individuals. After someone or something has disturbed these bees, it is dangerous to be near their colony for 24 hours, as they will begin to attack immediately.
Roaming ant
Stray ants have the largest colony of any other insect in the world. Each colony of these ants can number about 22 million individuals. Even elephants are forced to flee when attacked by this great amount insects.
They are able to destroy any animal that gets in their way. Usually, roaming ants kill thousands of different animals in a single raid. With the help of their strong jaws, they leave wounds on animals and people.
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are the most dangerous insects in the world. Millions of people around the planet die every year from their stings. Mosquitoes are carriers of malaria, which is transmitted to humans through microbes carried by these insects around the world.
A person becomes infected with this especially dangerous disease through mosquito bites. The WHO estimates that one child dies from malaria every 30 seconds worldwide. In just a year, about 500 million patients who are diagnosed with this terrible ailment turn to doctors.
In addition to malaria, mosquitoes also transmit dengue fever, yellow fever, encephalitis, and Western Nile virus.
Associated with a small insect that spends its entire life in hard work. In most cases, they are harmless. The only danger they pose is crop damage or slight redness at the site of the bite, which quickly passes. But there are also very dangerous representatives of this species in the world. Killer ants are capable of attacking people and sting mercilessly, letting dangerous poisons under their skin.
This type of insect is typical for tropical and subtropical latitudes, where the climate is warm and humid. The largest populations are found in Africa; the species lives in the Central and Southern parts of Asia. They are also called stray ants or siafu army ants. These are large individuals, the body length of which is about 1.5 cm.
They got their name because of the characteristic way of life. Nomadic ants do not build a stationary anthill. They constantly change their habitat.
Interesting!
The colony traverses about 1 km daily. They move in a wide column that tapers smoothly towards the tail. Its width can reach 15 m, and its length is up to 45 m.
Nomad ants strictly adhere to a certain order during the procession. The edges of the column are guarded by soldier ants, and workers move closer to the middle, carrying food and future offspring.
The native land of the species is South America, distributed over much larger areas and can be found in the United States and Mexico. Individuals have small size that do not exceed 6 mm. African killer ants have excellent adaptive abilities, so their area of distribution is constantly increasing.
Looking at the photo of this species, attention is immediately focused on a powerful sting, which bears some resemblance to a similar organ of a scorpion. They also have rather large chewing jaws, which play not only a defensive role, but also as a way of transporting food particles.
Poisonous ants are recognized as the largest species among congeners.
- The body length of a working ant is 2-2.5 m. Their female grows up to 3 cm.
- The predominant habitat is South America.
- has a black-brown color.
- Characteristic feature is the presence of a powerful sting, inside which a large amount of dangerous poison is concentrated.
This species does not like to roam and prefers to equip anthills in the depths of the soil. There is enough moisture for them to produce offspring. A characteristic feature of the anthill is its simplicity of design. Wasps and spiders are used as food, as well as plant and fruit juices.
Interesting!
The uterus of a bulldog ant can penetrate into alien ant hills and kill the true queen. After that, a new queen remains in the colony. The workers begin to serve her.
Bulldogs live only in the wild and do not tend to occupy human dwellings. Once next to the anthill, a person should immediately leave this place. The nest guards instantly give a command, and almost the entire colony goes into battle. Bites of this type are considered the most dangerous in the world. They can lead to severe anaphylactic shock, and in more severe cases, even death.
Thus, it is rather difficult to assess the danger of being bitten by each species. This is due to the characteristics of the organism and its resistance. In the habitats of dangerous individuals, local residents are always alerted and educated about the possible danger and precautions.
The world around us is fraught with many mysteries and surprises. It is so rich in a variety of species that common man it is unrealistic to comprehend all the subtleties of nature. Insects are especially numerous representatives of the animal world.
Nomadic ants - features of insects
Every person in his life has met ants. These tiny workers always cause admiration and surprise in people. Their work is organized to the smallest detail. Every inhabitant of the anthill works for the common good. But did you know that there are a huge number of varieties of these insects? And some of them are very dangerous.
African nomadic ants got their name from their behavior. They do not create their own anthill in a certain place, but lead a nomadic lifestyle, migrating in colonies from one locality to another.
The column moves in the daytime. In 1 hour, ants are able to overcome from 100 to 300 m. The width of the column can reach 15 m. Further, it narrows, forming a kind of tail, the length of which can stretch by 45 m.
Nomadic ants, moving in whole colonies, sweep away everything in their path. These insects are dangerous to both animals and humans. very painful, and can cause an allergic reaction in a person, and this, in turn, can lead to anaphylactic shock and suffocation.
Insect habitats
Nomadic ants are not only found in Africa. The habitat of these insects is the tropics. Therefore, you can see them on two American continents, in Central and South Asia. Insects like tropical and subtropical climates.
Description of the species
The population of the colony can reach 22 million individuals. The largest is the uterus. Its length during the laying period is 5 cm, which is a record among various kinds of ants. The uterus is capable of producing a huge number of individuals, so the size of the colony does not decrease. Some insects die, but new nomadic ants immediately come in their place.
The urge to migrate is observed only in two subspecies:
- Ecitoninae.
- Dorylinae.
In the process of movement, the ant soldiers are responsible for protection, so they are concentrated at the edges of the column. The inner part is occupied by workers who drag the future offspring and food.
Since the movement of the column occurs only during the daytime, at night the ants create a nest from a living work force, the diameter of which is about a meter. Insects cling to each other with their paws, forming a secluded place for their queen and her offspring. To create such a nest, about 150 - 700 thousand individuals are involved.
Migration does not last long, only a few days, after which a settled phase begins, which lasts from several weeks to 3 months. During this period, the uterus lays a huge number of eggs (100 - 300 thousand) and by the end of the camp, larvae will appear from them. At the same time, adults - adults - will emerge from the cocoons of the previous offspring.
Insect feeding
The favorite delicacy of ants is insects such as:
- bee;
- termite.
Nomadic ants of the African continent also feed on carrion, and it does not matter at all whether they eat the corpse of which animal, large or small. Wandering insects mercilessly devour everything that comes their way:
- different types of insects;
- snake;
- bird's nests;
- small invertebrates;
- amphibians.
The ants stick into the victim and inject into it a dose of a toxic, poisonous substance. Since the speed of insects is not too high (up to 20 km / h), weak, slow and wounded animals most often become their prey.
Do nomadic ants have enemies?
Oddly enough, but such dangerous insect, like a nomadic ant, there is still an enemy - this is a praying mantis. But the organization of the ant colony is so high that insects can easily cope with even such an enemy. Seeing a praying mantis, one of the ants rushes to it and bites with its jaws, injecting poison. Even if the insect dies, the rest of the individuals, seeing such a signal, group up and repulse the offender. In this case, you will not envy the praying mantis, he is in danger of death.
Because of such a collective organization of the column, no one runs the risk of hunting ants.
How long do these insects live?
Few people know that life expectancy reaches 10 - 15 years. Other individuals of the colony live much less, from 2 months to 2 years maximum. In laboratory conditions, the lifespan of individual insects was 4 years.
Fascinating facts about nomadic ants
- The nomadic killer ants, which pose a mortal danger to humanity, are a complete fiction created by the film industry. Of course, insect bites are a big threat to people who are allergic to toxic substances, but not a single case of human death was recorded. Therefore, it would be unfair to call nomad ants killers.
- These insects are excellent orderlies. They clean agricultural plantations from various pests.
- On the African continent, nomadic ants are the most dangerous predators.
- Insects are able to follow in the footsteps of their relatives.
- Ants have no vision at all, but their hearing is well developed.
- The queen in the colony has no rights. Her task is to breed new offspring.
- The peoples of Central Africa leave their homes and move their livestock away as soon as information appears that a column of ants is moving in the direction of their settlement.
- If nomadic ants move in the direction of the prison, then prisoners who have not committed serious crimes and are not sentenced to death are released during the invasion of insects.
Varieties of dangerous ants
We often find ants in our regions, but they all do not pose a danger to humans, which cannot be said about some species that live in tropical climates. There are species that contain aggressive poison. Considered dangerous:
- Siafu are nomadic army ants. Habitat - Australia. The insect has powerful jaws. Like other species of nomadic ants, there is no permanent nest. Insects build a bivouac (temporary shelter), which consists of the bodies of workers. Bites are dangerous to humans, as they can cause allergies.
- Bullet ants. These insects have a very strong poison - poneroxin. The bite delivers terrible pain that does not subside within 24 hours. This type of insect is found in the tropics and subtropics of the South American continent. The Indian tribes used these ants for initiation rites. A bracelet, which was hung with insects, was attached to the young man. The ants bit the boy, after which his limbs were paralyzed for 2-3 days, and the bite sites turned black. The worst thing is that a young man must undergo this execution 20 times, and only after that he can be considered a real man.
- Fiery. This ant species is very dangerous to humans. In one year, about 20 deaths after a bite that caused a severe allergic reaction. Habitat: Asia, southern Europe and America. Ants adapt easily to environment, settling in unknown territories. The poison is called Solenopsin. The bite feels like the pain of a burn, it provokes the formation of a tumor.
- A large insect that is very poisonous. Three out of a hundred bitten experienced anaphylactic shock. It is very difficult to predict what the body's reaction to such a poison will be, because it is very different in its own way. chemical composition from toxins contained in the stings of bees and wasps.
Nomadic ants, the description of which was considered in the article, are truly amazing representatives of the animal world. Their organization and well-coordinated work can only be envied.