The reproductive characteristic of army ants is that when it is in a rest period, that is, during the rest period, during the rest period, that is, within two or three weeks, it is producing a large amount of eggs. 250,000 eggs. It can lay about 6 eggs at the same time and eventually hatch into a new ant king. The new or queen ant is female, but it also produces more than a thousand eggs that can develop into male ants, that is, the king ant. Ant. Eventually they will develop wings as they mature. In order to avoid mating between brothers and sisters, male ants fly away as soon as possible and fly to other ant colonies to find virgin ant kings in other ant colonies to mate with. Therefore, the queen ants do not have to crawl around.

Army ants

They live in the Amazon River Basin and live in groups. Generally, there are one to two million in a group. They are migratory ants, which means they have no fixed residence and are used to finding prey on the move. They are constantly marching every day, discovering prey, eating it and carrying it. At night, the army ants bite each other, forming a huge ant group, hugging each other to rest. The worker ants are in the outer circle, and the soldier ants and baby ants are enclosed in the inner circle. The purpose of this is to protect their next generation.

Army ants move very quickly. Although each army ant is very small and can be washed away or drowned by a drop of water, their combined power is too great and nothing can stop them. When they encounter a ravine, they hug together and roll down like a ball to the other side, forming an ant bridge for the army to pass. The ones that are wider, the ones in front rush down without hesitation, just like building a house and laying a solid foundation, until the ravine is filled up and the army can pass. Of course, this scene is very tragic, because it is almost like committing suicide. Many ants All were washed away or left behind, but no ant would back down.

Army ants have amazing hunting abilities. Crickets, grasshoppers and other "big guys" whose bodies are hundreds of times larger than them are all delicacies of army ants. Although a cricket is very powerful and is very confident in dealing with one or two army ants, when hundreds of army ants continue to quickly climb up its body and bite it, it will eventually be eliminated. According to the introduction on TV, even if a pig or leopard encounters army ants, only the bones will be eaten within half a day. The reason why army ants are so powerful is, firstly, because of their large numbers, and secondly, because their saliva is poisonous. After the prey is bitten, it is quickly anesthetized and loses its resistance. Therefore, what local people fear most are army ants.

Lions, tigers, and bears are nothing to be afraid of, not even those of us who are known for our bellicosity. When it comes to combat methods, only army ants can make you tremble with fear and break out in a cold sweat. These excellent warriors are armored, with bodies as hard as iron armor, and jaws as sharp as scimitars. They use ant sea tactics to attack. Their numbers are beyond imagination. They rely on their strength to chop and cut, even if they are much larger than their prey. He also had to cut his body into pieces with a knife. Think of a swarm of people wielding spears at the feet of a mammoth—that's exactly what happens when army ants attack a tarantula or a scorpion. Every day, army ant colonies win tens of thousands of these battles. Folklore describes army ants as invincible, but their superior combat power is still limited. Their sea tactics do not kill livestock or humans (although there are unconfirmed rumors that a species of African army ant occasionally does this).

Head to Colorado Island, one of the best places to observe army ant activity. The 15-square-kilometer island, located in a lake formed by the Panama Canal, is home to about 50 colonies of the nematode ants—the most studied army ants in the world.

Army ants are true super predators, but it's still possible to escape an attack from a hungry colony. Some target prey use "everyday" escape mechanisms (flies fly away, grasshoppers jump out of the way), while others have evolved special army ant defenses. There is an escape mechanism that takes advantage of the blindness of army ants, but it requires a lot of courage and inner calm: when faced with millions of ants, the stick insect will remain completely still; if it makes any movement, the army ant will Detects vibration and attacks. Likewise, beetles trust their protective gear and wait for the ant army to pass.

Various spiders and silk-spinning caterpillars use their unique physiological structures to hang under plants with silk; because the silk is too thin, ants cannot pass through it. Some slugs have slightly twisted threads that secrete protective mucus when cornered by ants on leaves. If more ants appear, the slug will retreat further, eventually sliding off the leaf and hanging from the impassable sticky threads.

Army ants prey on other social insects such as wasps, termites, and other ants. If two insects faced off, maybe there would be a tie? No, the army ants usually win. When some Arizona ants are attacked by army ants, they cause intense nest-protection action and the entire colony evacuates. Fast-moving workers transport eggs, larvae and pupae. They will then climb onto nearby plants and remain motionless for several hours, only to return slowly and carefully to their looted nest later.

When wasps are attacked by army ants, their general reaction is to flee. When approaching, they will station in large numbers at the entrance of the hive, flapping their wings frantically to vibrate the hive to warn their companions in the hive. Another species will place its head outside the nest, tap its roof of mouth and make a buzzing sound that can be heard up to seven meters away. The more aggressive wasps will try to fly through the army ant colony, picking out individual ants and throwing them far away to protect the hive. But there are too many ants, so this will not have much effect. Some wasps will gather in groups and block the entrance to the hive with their bodies, but ants will soon arrive and drag them away with their tentacles.

Attacks by army ants trigger unusual behaviors in potential prey. In West Africa, giant earthworms spot an army of army ants coming their way. Will they burrow into the soil? No, they slither up the nearest tree. Some snails can blow bubbles enough to cover up and protect themselves. Even vertebrates are not immune: the long legs and amazing jumping ability of the African pointy mouse developed as a way to quickly escape from marching ant colonies.

The ferocious attacks of army ants are also good for forests, helping to maintain biodiversity. When a tree falls in a forest, it creates a chaotic habitat where various species can enter, colonize, and grow. Likewise, when a colony of marching ants takes hold, animal life is completely destroyed and seemingly wiped out. Soon after the army ants leave, the area becomes a hotbed of biodiversity, with opportunities for all kinds of creatures... until the army ants return.