How Do Ants Care For Young?
WouterAmong all the insects on the planet, ants are the most common. They are found in many ecosystems and have a complex social structure. They are divided into three castes: males, workers and queens. Each of these castes is related to the others.
The male ants have wings and die after mating. The workers are wingless and care for the young ants. They also forage for food, clean the nest and dispose of waste. The queen, on the other hand, does nothing but lay eggs. The queen is larger than the workers.
The queen lays all of the eggs in the colony. She cloisters herself in her nest for several weeks. The new queen does not feed herself during this period. The queen’s offspring are raised like her own. The queen’s diet is determined by the type of food she has stored in her body.
The larvae are worm-shaped. They are white, and they lack legs. They predigest food and digestive fluids for the queen. The larvae molt several times as they grow. They are fed by the queen in the first generation, and they are fed by the workers in the second generation. They become fully grown ants after a few months.
The pupae are similar to the adult workers, with folded antennae. Some species spin cocoons for protection. The pupae are whitish at first, but they begin to darken gradually. Some ants move the pupae deeper into the nest during the day, while others move them back up at night.
