Research papers on the topic of ants. Scientific research work "secrets of the life of an anthill"
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1.Introduction.
Research topic: Who lives in an anthill.
Who can say which insects are the most numerous on earth? The most numerous are ants. Look at the ground, and unless you are in a modern city, you will find ants everywhere: in the north, in the south, in the mountains, in the lowlands, in the fields in the forest. They are different: small, barely visible to the eye, large - up to a centimeter long, light yellow, brown, black, red, red, with spots and stripes.
Relevance: The social life of an ant is very complex and interesting. Careful observation of the life of ants cannot help but suggest a striking similarity public life humans and these insects. First of all, ants are interesting for their complex social behavior Each ant performs its own specific type of work. Their attitude to work is amazing. Ants are the most hardworking creatures in the world! People could learn many positive things from ant behavior. The main role model could be taking care of your family.
Object of study is a red forest ant.
Subject of research is observing ants in natural conditions.
Hypothesis: Ants are social insects with complex behavior.
Purpose of the study: study and justify the life of ants.
To achieve the goal, we have set ourselves the following tasks:
Get acquainted with reference literature.
Study research methodology.
Conduct practical observations.
Summarize the received material.
Make a photo and video report about the life of ants.
Research methods:
study literature
take a trip to the forest
observations and experiments to study the behavior of ants
analysis of the results obtained.
Practical significance The main idea of the work is that the research materials can be used in lessons about the surrounding world and classroom hours.
Novelty for me is the opportunity to discover and learn something new.
II. Main part.
1.Ants are the oldest creatures on Earth.
One day my parents gave me the “Insects” collection. I was interested in the ant. I wanted to know how ants feed, communicate, reproduce, and where they live in winter? Therefore, I decided to take a closer look at the life of the forest ant, a small inhabitant of our native Penza region. I started my work in the summer, since they are more accessible to study during this period. In the summer I played the role of a myrmecologist .
From book sources, the Internet 1, I learned an interesting fact that for more than twenty-five million years, ants have lived as social insects. This was proven by paleontologists from the findings of ants (no different from those that we know) in fossilized resin - amber. (Fig. 1)
Figure 1.
There are about fifteen thousand species of ants known in the world, and each of them differs not only in body structure, but also in their way of life. According to estimates by one of the most respected myrmecologists of the 2nd world, Edward Wilson, from 1 to 10 quadrillion individuals of individual ants live on Earth today. Incredible, but true - for every living person there are about a million of these creatures, and their total mass is approximately equal to the total mass of all people.
The life of ants is very complex, their behavior depends on a lot of different instincts. Ants have well-developed signaling, division of labor, and have a certain routine of life.
Conclusion: Ants are the oldest animals, as they have lived on Earth for more than 130 million years.
Wikipedia is a free, publicly available, multilingual universal Internet encyclopedia.S; Alekseev V.A. 300 questions and answers about insects. - Yaroslavl: Academy of Development, 2007.
http://films.imhonet.ru/element/1195489/movie-online/Planet of Secrets (April, 2013), Myrmecology - the science of ants
2.Structure of the anthill.
In the forest thicket, on the edges, in a field, in a meadow, in copses, on the banks of a river or stream, near large and small trees - we can find anthills everywhere. There are large anthill houses in the forest, visible from afar - just handsome skyscrapers. Their height is more than one and a half meters, and paths diverge in all directions from the anthill, along which its inhabitants - ants - scurry.
As a rule, an anthill is built from spruce needles, leaves and small branches. Anthill is a beautiful, multi-storey building with many apartments, warm, cozy rooms, bedrooms, children's rooms, storage rooms, a garbage disposal and toilet, and good ventilation. All entrances and exits allow fresh air to pass deep into the anthill. Ants keep their homes perfectly clean.
They brought small twigs, pieces of bark, large pine needles. They folded it and strengthened it with earth moistened with saliva. And then a tall, rounded cone grew. Therefore, rain, even the heaviest downpour, will not wet the anthill, the dome is round and streamlined. The rain even strengthens the anthill - the needles and twigs are held together by earth, clay, like cement. (video fragment 1)
Video fragment 1
And the wind can’t do anything to the anthill - the needles lie tightly. And so that they are better ventilated and do not rot, the ants “came up with” one trick. Every four days they remove the old needles and take them inside the anthill. This is how ants constantly move through the roof and protect it from mold. Under the roof of the anthill there is a whole labyrinth of passages - corridors, branches, chambers. The anthill is completely porous, multi-story. Anthills also have “basements”: passages, passages, chambers go into the ground for several more “ant” floors. To get inside the anthill, special entrances are made. Red forest ants live in large families in anthills, which consist of an above-ground part and an underground nest. Conclusion: An anthill is a very complex architectural structure in the shape of a cone, the size of which reaches 2 - 2.5 m in height.
3.Life in an anthill.
The few males, with rare exceptions, do not take part in the life of the colony. They remain in the nest until the mating summer, and after it they find themselves homeless and unable to take care of themselves.
They rise to the surface of their home and fly above it. This is a mating flight. After fertilization, the females descend to the ground, shed their wings and establish new nests. Often young females end up in anthills from which they flew.
Males die after the nuptial flight.
In late autumn, the vibrant life of the anthill comes to a standstill. Ants climb into deep underground chambers and there, huddled in a large lump, fall into torpor until spring (video fragment 2).
Video fragment 2.
But on the thawed top of the dome in April we already see ants lazily crawling. In the sun they warm up and accumulate heat. Ants defend themselves from enemies by sticking their abdomen forward and hitting the enemy with well-aimed shots of formic acid. This poison has a significant effect on nervous system, heart function and respiration 3. Three weeks after using the acid, the contents of the poison gland in ants are completely restored (Fig. 2).
Figure 2.
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Observation
Experiment.
Hypothesis:
Ants use formic acid to protect the anthill.
I placed a clean handkerchief on an anthill, on the surface of which there are many ants (photo 1)
Conclusion: To protect the anthill, ants use formic acid
4. “Professions” of ants.
It's interesting how ants come to food. One of the ants, the scout, who has found a food object, directs the other, the forager, to the food. (photo 2, photo 3)
Observation
Hypothesis:
ants inform each other.
Photo 2. Photo 3.
This may happen in various ways: when one of the foragers attaches itself to the scout and follows him until he discovers food, or when the foragers from the top of the nest observe where the scout brought the prey from and head there (video fragment 3).
Conclusion: Ants inform each other, distinguish the inhabitants of their anthill from the inhabitants of someone else's, and use formic acid to protect the anthill.
Video fragment 3.
Foragers are not the only “profession” of working ants. In every family there is a division of labor and each group is responsible for doing its own work. Soldiers (Fig. 3), scouts, observers on trails, restorers of roads after their destruction, nanny ants (Fig. 4) - this is not a complete list of ant “professions”.
Figure 3. Figure 4.
5. The role of ants in the ecosystem.
Ants are known as the most beneficial insects, although, of course, animals that are useless to nature do not exist at all.
Ants loosen the soil, creating conditions for supplying it with air; accelerate the decomposition of plant residues and fertilize the soil with humus, destroy many wood-destroying insects, promoting the growth of the tree stand. Leaf-eating insects make up up to 90% of the ants' diet. In addition, ants improve the water regime of the soil and regulate its acidity. Under the anthill it is usually lighter and less acidic due to an increase in the number of alkaline cations.
Observation
In the summer I watched ants hunt and came to the conclusion: by eating various insects, ants protect the forest from possible pests. (photo 4)
Conclusion: Understanding the importance of these insects in preserving the forest ecosystem, people should protect anthills. Anthills should not die during deforestation, they should not be barbarically destroyed by people!
6. Why is it necessary to protect the red forest ant?
Protecting forests from pests and diseases is a very important environmental task. The most environmentally appropriate methods of pest control are all measures to keep the forest in a healthy state, to maintain biological balance in it 4.
The significance of ants in nature and human life:
Participate in the soil-forming process (loosening, enriching with oxygen, fertilizing, mixing).
Regulate the number of insects - forest pests (destroy larvae).
Formic acid is an effective anti-mite agent.
Conclusion: Ants are friends of the forest. We must protect anthills from destruction. Red wood ants are included in the “Red List of Threatened Species” of the international Red Book of the World Conservation Union with the status of “close to becoming endangered.”
IV.Conclusion.
My project was called “Who Lives in an Anthill”. The goal that I set for myself has been achieved. As a result of the work done, I learned:
1.Set a goal and achieve it,
2.Plan your actions,
3. Find information from different sources, choose the main thing,
4. Conduct observations.
Who lives in the anthill? I learned about the composition of the ant family, that despite the apparent chaos, strict order reigns in the anthill: each ant is busy with his own business. Ants have their own “professions”, which are very similar to the professions of humans. I also learned how the inside of an anthill works. Now me. While working on the project, I realized the exceptional role of these insects in preserving the forest ecosystem. After all, they are natural protectors of the forest from pests and diseases. My hypothesis put forward at the beginning of the project was completely confirmed.
After studying the life of ants, I made a model of an anthill (photo 5) and collected interesting video material and the lives of ants (Appendix No. 1).
III Practical research.
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Observations |
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Observation No. 1 “The size of a forest ant” |
I measured and concluded: the red forest ant has body dimensions from 4 mm to 9 mm |
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Observation No. 2 “An anthill is a complex architectural structure” |
Having been in the forest, I noticed that the structure of the anthill is in the shape of a cone, the size of which reaches 2 - 2.5 m in height. |
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Observation No. 3 “Location of the anthill” |
I noticed that anthills are not all the same, but are always located on the south side of the tree. |
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Observation No. 4 “Structure of an anthill” |
The top layer of an anthill is a covering of needles and twigs brought by construction ants. This layer protects the home from bad weather. |
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Observation No. 5 “Behavior of a forest ant in autumn” |
In late autumn, the vibrant life of the anthill comes to a standstill. The ants climb into underground chambers and there, huddled in a large lump, fall into torpor until spring. |
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Experiment |
Hypothesis |
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Experiment No. 1 |
The ants inform each other: having received valuable information, the foragers headed towards the plate, guided by the smell left by the scout. And soon we were at our goal. |
I put food on the plate. |
The hypothesis was confirmed |
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Experiment No. 2 |
Ants distinguish the inhabitants of their anthill from the inhabitants of someone else's. |
I transplanted an ant from another anthill into the anthill that was being monitored. |
An alien ant was attacked by its owners. |
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Resources used
Alekseev V.A. 300 questions and answers about insects. - Yaroslavl: Academy of Development, 2007.
Dlussky G.M., Bukin A.P. Meet the ants! - M.: Agropromizdat, 2009.
Zakharov A.A. Ant, family, colony. - M.: Nauka, 2008.
Tarabarina T.I., Sokolova E.I. Both study and play. Natural history. - Yaroslavl: Development Academy, 2012.
Khalifman I.A. Operation Forest Ants. - M.: Timber Industry, 2012.
Reader for extracurricular reading on the course "Man and the World". Author-compiler V.M. Vdovichenko. - Mn.: Private Unitary Enterprise "Publishing House Unipress", 2004.
Other sources of information
http://www .floranimal.ru/familes/4810.htm/ Ant family (September, 2014)
http://www.antclub.ru/muravi/ Antclub. Ants (September 2014)
http://www.mirnasekomyh.ru/muravej.htm/ World of insects (September, 2014)
http://films.imhonet.ru/element/1195489/movie-online/Planet of Secrets (April, 2013)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmtSKdnHBdoThe hidden life of ants (July, 2009)
“ An ant crawls through the forest. It's not easy for a heavyweight - He carries the reed into the house, Patch all the holes in it.”
Design- research work "The Mysteries of the Red Anthill"
Completed the project
3rd grade student
State educational institution of the LPR “Perevalskaya school No. 12”
Melnik Maxim
Supervisor
Melnik T.V.
Living beings living on our planet are divided into two large groups or two worlds: flora and animal. In turn, living beings belonging to each of these two worlds are divided into many smaller orders and classes. So, fauna is divided into the following classes: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, insects. There are probably several million species of insects, although approximately 900,000 have been described so far. Among such a large class of “insects” there are creatures useful and harmful. But how do we understand “beneficial” and “harmful” insects? Indeed, from an ecological point of view, nothing in the world of living beings can be superfluous, and therefore can be neither useful nor harmful. The destruction of any species can lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem. So, when we talk about such concepts as “harmful” and “beneficial” insects, we mean the benefits they bring to humans. At the same time, we try to protect the useful ones. Since ancient times, the life of hardworking ants has been a subject of constant observation and keen interest for people. In ancient legends, poetic works and even in the Bible, attention was paid to these insects. However, despite this, we still don’t know much about them, and some of the secrets of their life have only recently been revealed to scientists. The Ant family (Formicidae) is the largest family of insects in terms of the number of individuals. And in terms of the number of species, few families can compete with it. Now there are approximately 8,000 thin stalks of one or two segments connecting the chest and abdomen. In other representatives of the order, the abdomen is directly attached to the chest. The most common and frequently encountered in the world is the red wood ant (Formica rufa). But, as it turned out, the benefits of this species are extremely great. This work is devoted to the study of the role of this species of ants in the life of the forest and humanity.
Relevance of the topic research project
Red ants have a significant impact on the forest ecosystem. Everyone knows that the forest is the “lungs” of the Earth, which gives us fresh air. With the disappearance of ants, the orderlies of the forest, an ecological catastrophe may arise - the danger of destruction of the forest zone, as the main source of preservation of all life on Earth.
Purpose of the research project: study the life of ants, learn interesting facts about their life.
Objectives of the research project: Increase knowledge about insects.
Study the types of ant dwellings and the features of their construction.
Learn the laws of the ant family.
Reveal the significance of ants in nature and for humans.
Study literature on this topic.
Analyze the work and add additional material to the class “piggy bank” .
Research hypothesis:
If you learn about the importance of ants in nature and in human life, you can use this knowledge to your advantage.
Research methods:
practical work; - observations; - data collection and analysis; - generalization of information; - survey among school students and teachers
Object of study:
Anthill, ant dwellings.
Subject of research:
Ants
Expected results:
- developing ideas about how ants live;
- the emergence of ideas about ants and their varieties;
- based on research results, establish interesting facts about the benefits of ants;
- propaganda about the importance of ants among school students;
- use of research results to conduct cool hours, quizzes.
- creation of a collection of riddles “Children's riddles about an ant”, a booklet “The most interesting things about ants”, a mini-album “Our Ants” with the results of a survey, an application “Anthill”, a presentation of the work.
DESCRIPTION AND PHYSIOLOGICAL FEATURES of the red ant.
The red wood ant lives throughout European territory. Individuals of this species are also found in Asia and North America. Perhaps everyone who has ever been in a real forest has met red ants. This type is the most common. However, it should not be confused with red-colored house ants, as it is completely different types insects
LIFESTYLE
Red ants live in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, which are several decades old. Insects are active during the warm period, and in winter they hibernate underground. All ants are real hard workers, and forest individuals are no exception. These insects have a strict hierarchy. The colony is divided into the following types:
- large female;
- females and males;
- workers;
- foragers.
About the structure of the ant family
For ants, a family is not an empty phrase; it is a well-organized community designed for long-term existence. It usually consists of adult females and males capable of fertilization, and working individuals, mainly females who have lost the ability to reproduce, as well as the so-called brood: eggs, larvae and pupae.
One family in size can reach several dozen or more insects, up to 1 million. These are the so-called “large families”, in which there are individual soldiers, and individual nannies and many others. Among them, only a few males and females are able to continue the race.
Only the queen (queen ant) can lay eggs. At the time of mating games, she is able to fly using her wings, which is quite surprising to see an ant flying. But her flight is short-term - immediately after mating she bites off her wings. The fate of the males is no less sad: having fertilized the female, they soon die.
Contrary to the opinion that the female is the main one in the family, the opposite can be argued: she is not as important as the working individuals. It is they who decide in which part of the anthill she should live and for how long, especially if she is infertile, and also how many larvae to leave for the correct ratio of layers (castes) within the family.
What do ants eat?
Ants feed on insects, sweet secretions of aphids, plant sap, and seeds.
Features of the life activity of ants The German scientist and myrmecologist G. Wellenstein, after more than 25 years of studying red forest ants, established that their “menu” consists of: honeydew (honeydew) - 62%; plant juice – 4.5%; seeds – 0.2%; insects and invertebrates – 33%; mushrooms and carrion – 0.3%.
HOW THE ANANT HILL IS STRUCTURED .
Interesting facts about ants
Ants are the most ancient insects on Earth. Ant fossils were found more than 100 million years ago. - An ant is stronger than an elephant, because it can lift a load much more than its own weight. - Whenever there is a free minute, the worker ants “play”, grab each other with their paws and roll on the ground. - Ants are able to distinguish their “brothers” from strangers, thanks to the smell produced by special glands. - Sometimes ants’ grain reserves can reach up to 50 kg. At the same time, it does not rot in the nests, because they carefully dry it in the sun. - IN South America Stray ants live. They move in columns, sweeping away all living things that come their way, even lizards and snakes.
Sociological survey
To conduct a sociological survey, a questionnaire of four questions was compiled.
- What do you know about ants?
- What is the significance of ants in nature?
- Are there ants in your garden?
- Why do ants matter in your garden?
Mini-album materials
"Our ants in fairy tales"
drawings made by 3rd grade students .
I WORKED LIKE AN ANT.
My creativity: application "Anthill" I made the application after finishing all the work.
When I was making the creative composition “Anthill” Materials that I needed:
1.Natural material.
2. Background for the composition.
3. Glue - pencil.
4.Semolina, cereal.
5. Plasticine.
Observations of ants.
The anthill that I observed in the summer was located in the forest. This is what I saw. The ants were dragging him towards him various material: wood chips, dead insects. I also noticed that most ants move for a reason, but one after another at a distance of about five centimeters, and they move along the same paths, and some ants carry nothing, but every time they return to the anthill, they run again with the rest . Then I decided to conduct a little experiment. I placed a small (about 5 cm) stick on one of the ant paths and began to monitor the reaction of the ants. Two ants climbed over it and tried to move the stick from its place, but they failed. Then two more ants approached them, and the four of them dragged the stick to the anthill, but since it did not fit inside, they had to leave it outside.
Conducting research, observing the life of ants, and studying additional literature about ants, I made the following conclusions:
1. Ants live in families.
2.Each ant clearly knows and performs its specific function.
3. Ants are eternal builders.
4. Ants move along the same paths.
5. Ants treat different insects differently.
LOVE NATURE!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION.
MUNICIPAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
CHUMASHI SECONDARY SCHOOL
Chumashki village
Kupinsky district
Novosibirsk region
EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH WORK.
Theme: “Forest Sanitation Ants”
Nomination "Ecology of forest animals"
Elshait Irina
Consultant: Head of Environmental
Biological Association "Yunnat"
Fenkina Vera Pavlovna
2007
Table of contents.
Introduction.
Research methodology.
Research results.
Conclusions.
Conclusion.
List of used literature.
Introduction
Purpose of the work: To expand the understanding of a very interesting group of living organisms - ants, their behavior, social way of life, and their role in the life of the forest community.
Objectives of the work: Find out the characteristics of the life of ants;
find out what the ants living in our birch and aspen groves feed on, find out what effect formic acid has on insects and people, determine what importance ants have for the forest biocenosis;
Relevance of the study (issues)
Nowadays there is a lot of talk about the problems of environmental pollution, the use of a huge number of chemicals: pesticides, mineral fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc. Against the backdrop of widespread environmental pollution, the issue of reducing the use of chemicals and the wider use of biological methods becomes very relevant plant pest control. Ants, as forest orderlies, come to the fore in this case.
Study location: the vicinity of the village of Chumashki, aspen and birch groves within a radius of 6 km.
Duration of the study: June – July 2007.
Research methodology:
Observations;
Photographing;
Work with reference and scientific literature.
In the summer, I often went to the forest with my dad just to be in nature and breathe fresh air. It was June, haymaking time, dad was talking with tractor drivers, and I was wandering through the forest. On the very first day, I discovered several anthills in the forest and began to watch them. It turned out to be so interesting to observe that the next day I came to the forest specifically to observe the ants.
What impressed me most was their hard work. The basis of the population of the anthill were worker ants - a special form of females adapted not for reproduction, but for performing various jobs. From the literature I learned details about the possible composition of an ant family.
Ants in a colony are divided into four main categories: 1) males and virgin females awaiting mating summer (which does not always occur for them); 2) fertile queen, or uterus (in some cases there are several of them); 3) workers, sometimes comprising several subcastes; 4) brood (eggs, larvae and pupae).
Males. The ant community consists mainly of females. The few males, with rare exceptions, do not take part in the life of the colony. They remain in the nest until the mating summer, and after it they find themselves homeless and unable to take care of themselves. Basically, their only function is mating, and once they have completed it, they quickly die. With few exceptions, males develop from unfertilized eggs, i.e. genetically haploid - they have only one set of chromosomes, inherited from the mother's egg.
Females. Non-breeding workers, like fertile queens, are female by genotype, but their reproductive system is usually underdeveloped. Both of them develop from fertilized eggs, i.e. are diploid - they have two sets of chromosomes obtained from the sperm and the egg. This one at first glance universal system complicates the presence of thelytocia, i.e. the development of females from unfertilized eggs, for example in Pristomyrmex pungens, the presence of diploid males, in particular in S. invicta and Formica exsecta, and the laying of viable eggs by workers in some species.
Workers. The worker caste is usually divided into three subcastes of varying sizes - small, medium and large individuals. In most species, the transition between them is gradual, and this division is partly arbitrary, but in some cases there are two clearly defined groups - small and large workers. The former in a number of species primarily or completely perform protective functions and are called soldiers. In granivorous forms, they are often also involved in grinding, i.e. cleaning the seeds from the shells and grinding their nutritious part, the endosperm. Small and medium-sized workers perform a variety of tasks that change with age. At first they work as nannies, feeding and cleaning the brood, then they become builders, expanding and repairing the nest, and the oldest (and most often dying) perform the dangerous role of foragers, i.e. collect and bring food to the anthill. The amount of labor available for any given task is optimized—it is set and maintained within the most efficient limits by regulating the life span during which individuals perform a particular function.
Brood. The development cycle of ants, like that of all Hymenoptera, includes complete metamorphosis (holometaboly). The egg hatches into a larva, the only growing stage of the insect. Her cuticle, i.e. The outer cover stretches only within certain limits, so during growth it changes several times - molting occurs. Accordingly, several age stages of the larva are distinguished: the first - from hatching to the first molt, the second - until the second moult, etc. Ants typically have four larval stages that culminate in pupation, although some species have three or five.
Before turning into a pupa, the larva stops feeding, regurgitates meconium (the contents of its intestines) and, in most ants, surrounds itself with a silk cocoon (it is these cocoons that are popularly called ant eggs). Inside the pupa, a radical restructuring of the insect's body occurs - the legless, sac-like larva turns into a morphologically complex adult (imago). All previous stages of the ant life cycle are combined under the name “brood”.
The anthill that I observed was not very large, about 50 cm high and 2 m in circumference, but maintaining it in order and providing the “tenants” with food forced the workers to constantly work all daylight hours.
I came to this forest in different times day and always saw the same picture: ants scurrying in different directions along the roads trodden from the anthill. These roads led to the nearest birch trees and went into thick grass.
Nest. Ants' nests are completely different from those of honey bees and social wasps. These are not symmetrical structures of geometrically regular cells, but complex networks of tunnels and chambers of unequal sizes. Whether these are underground labyrinths or, in arboreal species, “cardboard” structures made from plant fibers and soil particles - general device them the same. The ants' nest should be warm and humid. The mounds of earth created by Solenopsis species trap the sun's heat and function as miniature greenhouses. Some ants collect small pebbles, pieces charcoal and dead plants and place them on the surface of the nest as solar collectors.
Ants build nests in places chosen, at least in part, based on their thermal conditions. For example, in cool weather they may be attracted to a rock warmed by the sun. In winter, Solenopsis species concentrate their nests on the southern slopes of embankments of roads running in the latitudinal direction and erect high mounds; in summer they move to the north side of the embankments, and build low mounds or do not build them at all.
Ants can partially optimize the temperature conditions of their existence by moving up and down inside the nest or even moving to a satellite nest. Workers of a number of desert species, after drinking water, regurgitate it in the anthill to maintain the necessary humidity.
The ants climbed up the tree trunk to great heights, so that I lost sight of them. Once I watched how 17 ants, one after another, climbed onto the trunk of a young birch tree, to which there was a trodden “path,” and a few minutes later a small green caterpillar fell down. The ants that came down from the tree, along with those who came again, dragged her to the anthill.
They covered a distance of about 5 m in 40 minutes, but they could have delivered the prey much earlier if they did not interfere with each other and did not drag it in different directions.
The next day, I grabbed crumbs of candied honey from home and put them on the trail. After 3 minutes, a nimble black ant ran up and began running around the crumbs, trying to pick up some. Soon many “comrades” came to his aid and the crumbs began to move towards the anthill.
Then I laid out tiny pieces of meat, birch moth caterpillars, and small immobilized earthworms on the paths. At various intervals, all these offerings ended up in the anthill. I would really like to follow their entire path to the end, but to do this I would have to destroy the anthill. I knew its structure from literature.
Once I blocked the path of an ant running about its business with a small stick. He stopped, touched the stick with his antennae, climbed over it and ran on. The next day I didn’t find a stick in this place..
Several times I let ants bite my hand, wondering why the bite of such a small creature was so painful. Moreover, the biting ant took a strange pose: it hunched over and tucked its abdomen under itself. From Khalifman’s book “Ants” I learned that ants do not have a sting, but there is a poisonous gland at the end of the abdomen. In order for the poisonous liquid to get into the bite wound with its jaws, the ant has to “curl up.”
When I took an ant from the path and put it back in the anthill, it again returned to the same path and hurried about its business. I was very interested to know how ants can distinguish their own from strangers, because with such a huge population of the anthill, it is unlikely that they know all their comrades by sight, why do they need their antennae, which are constantly in motion. So one day I took several ants from “my” anthill and planted them in another someone else’s anthill. The hosts, the ants, attacked the strangers and after a few moments they all disappeared into the depths of the anthill. I regretted that I had killed them in vain, but then I read in Khalifman’s book that ants have highly developed communication with the help of special signaling substances. Those that are used within the same species are called pheromones. Thus, a frightened ant warns other members of the colony about danger by releasing an alarm pheromone. All individuals of the same species who catch its smell or taste also lose peace. An ant that has raised the alarm can simultaneously release an orientation pheromone, which attracts relatives to it and thereby helps them organize defense. The workers who came “on call”, having become familiar with the primary stimulus (the source of danger), release the same pheromones, strengthening the initial signal, but individuals that have not yet directly encountered this stimulus do not send alarm signals themselves. When the danger has passed, the chemical warning about it stops and the corresponding substance soon dissipates in the air, ceasing to have a stimulating effect.
At the end of June, near an anthill, I saw several very large ants with transparent wings, which I had never seen before, and I realized that the season of mating flights had arrived.
During the mating flight, females and males leave the nests and accumulate at the entrances, then begin to climb onto blades of grass, onto trees, onto the walls of houses and take off from there. More agile males often take off straight from the ground. Females and males from different nests mate in the air or on the ground, soon after this the males die, and the fertilized females shed their wings and go in search of a nest site. During flight, such females run in large numbers on the ground.
The female builds a small closed chamber in the ground and then begins laying eggs. Sometimes several females make such a chamber together. Ant eggs are very small, about 0.5 mm long. They are always glued together into a common lump. After 2-3 weeks, the first larvae begin to emerge from the eggs. Young larvae remain in a common clump, larger ones are placed in groups or separately on the floor of the chamber, and sometimes (in species of small ants) they are suspended on the walls of the chamber. After 4-6 months, the larvae finish growing and pupation begins. By this time they become larger than worker ants. Until the first workers emerge from the pupae, the females do not feed on anything. Moreover, they even feed the larvae with secretions of special glands. At the same time, the flight muscles, which the female will never need again, completely disappear, and she uses up the fat reserves that she accumulated in the parental nest. After the first workers emerge from the pupae, they make their way out of the chamber and begin to forage for food. From this moment on, the female only lays eggs. All work in the nest is undertaken by the workers.
After observing ants for three weeks, I came to the conclusion that it is not for nothing that they are considered forest orderlies; they destroy a huge number of insects, 80% of which are pests.
Research results.
In the forest I visited, the area of which was approximately 0.5 hectares, it is necessary for its healthy existence to have 2 anthills.
I found only 1 anthill there. Theoretically, I knew how to resettle an anthill, but, lacking practical skills, I did not dare to do it. In addition, the anthill in “my” forest was not very large and its resettlement could lead to the death of these beneficial insects.
Therefore, I simply left everything as it was in the hope that further resettlement will occur naturally and the biological method of protection will work in favor of the forest. It is estimated that a family from one large anthill destroys from 10 to 30 thousand insects per day. During the entire active season from April to November, ants destroy from 2 to 5 million harmful insects.
Conclusions:
Ants are the real protectors of the forest, integral part forest biocenosis. It is known that it is easier to preserve nature than to restore it later. And, if it is known that ants can help us in preserving forests, then we are simply obliged to preserve them, protect them and, if possible, resettle them.
Conclusion.
From I. Khalifman’s book, I learned that ants help eliminate outbreaks of mass reproduction of harmful insects, pollinate flowers, distribute plant seeds, themselves serve as food for birds, lizards, badgers, foxes, etc., move the soil, change it mechanically and chemically. At the same time, they improve air access to plant roots. I believe that ants play a very important role in nature and have every right to their place in the sun simply because they appeared on the planet much earlier than us.
Application:
Recipe for medicine for radiculitis and various joint diseases.
(recorded from the words of a former resident of the village of Chumashki, Arina Maksimovna Akhmaeva)
In the old days, when there were no drugs, people were treated with natural remedies. For the treatment of “lower back pain” the following remedy was used:
They took a clay pot, filled it to the top with milk, then drained the milk, and took the unwashed pot with them into the forest. In the forest they found (in advance) a large anthill, and placed a brought milk pot in the center of the anthill. Ants were usually packed into the pot to the top. The neck of the pot was tied with a rag, carried home, and at home they were placed in a hot Russian oven. The contents of the pot languished, liquid was released, which was filtered and later used as a rub.
Methods for relocating ants.
From the book by B. S. Shcherbakov “Insects as an object of school work.”
Pre-prepare a place for the future anthill: dig a hole 0.7 m deep, place an old stump or piece of rotten wood in it so that upper part a stump or tree protruded slightly above the surface of the ground; then throw rotten mushrooms into the hole and cover with loose soil. The place for the anthill should be dry and preferably sunny. At least 6-7 trees should grow within a radius of 20-30 m around the nest.
To relocate, you need to take ants from large anthills. Usually they take one third of the anthill and pour it into a bag. One person holds the bag open so that the bottom of the bag is on the ground. With another shovel, he scoops up the contents of the nest, i.e., worker ants, larvae, pupae, and quickly pours them into a bag, filling it to capacity, then the top of the bag is tightly tied with a rope, so that there is free space from the contents of the bag to the tie - air for the ants .
Separately, several pieces of queens are placed in a jar and the jar is tied with gauze. After this, the destroyed anthill is corrected - the scattered building material to the center of the nest, thereby facilitating the restoration of the anthill.
The bag with ants is moved or transported as quickly as possible. The ants are poured out of the bag into a new, pre-prepared place.
Branches with leaves or wood chips should be laid out around the new anthill so that the ants can temporarily hide larvae and pupae under them until a new nest is built. You also need to lay out the building material:
Small sticks, twigs and pine needles. This will make it easier for the ants to build a new nest.
The next day the queens are released. By this time, the ants will have settled down a little in the new nest. It is highly advisable to feed (3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar) to a young family and establish surveillance of the new nest.
References.
1 Entertaining entomology. N.N. Melters Enlightenment. 1972
2 Forest and environment. Molchanov A.A. Science. 1968
3 SuvorovaP. I. Insects - friends and enemies. Education. 1979
4 Forest entomology. Vorontsov A.I. Higher school. 1975
5 Biological methods of protecting forests from pests. Timber industry.
Krushev L. T. 1973.
6 Zoology of invertebrates. Natalie V.F. Enlightenment. 1975
7 Yearbook "Earth and People". Thought. 1980
8 Zoology for teachers. Yakhontov A. A. Enlightenment. 1982
9 Entomology.for the teacher. Mamaev B. M., Bordukova E. A. Education. 1985
10 Methods of environmental research. Bukhvalov V. A., Bogdanova L. V.
Municipal state educational institution
"Secondary school No. 1" village Nartan
Chegem municipal district
VI Republican Research Competition
and schoolchildren’s projects “First Steps into Science”
village village Nartan
Class 3 "B"
Direction: General intellectual
Research work
Subject: "Ants"
Head of Research
Kelemetova Jyuletta Borisovna
teacher primary classes MKOU Secondary School No. 1, Nartan village
Contest participant Shiritov Timur
Research objectives:
Studying the life of red forest ants.
The influence of ants on the ecological situation in the forest.
Research objectives:
♦ Study the literature about ants and their varieties.
♦ Study the behavior of ants in their forest anthills using the observation method.
♦ Learn to present the results of searching and summarizing information in various types(abstract, photo report, presentation).
♦ Increasing creative, cognitive activity and learning motivation.
Hypothesis:Ants play a big role in improving the ecological condition of the forest community.
Relevance of the topic:
Nowadays there is a lot of talk about the problems of environmental pollution and the use of huge amounts of chemicals. Against the backdrop of widespread environmental pollution, the issue of reducing the use of chemicals and the widespread use of biological methods for controlling plant pests becomes very relevant. Ants, as forest orderlies, come to the fore in this case.
Object of study:
Red forest ants.
Subject of research:
Ants' home.
Research methods:
~ Observing the life of ants in forest anthills
~ Studying literature and summarizing the information received;
Introduction.
Main part.
1. Review on the topic “Who are they, red forest ants?”
2. Practical part of the work: Observations of the life activity of the anthill.
III. Conclusion:
About the benefits of ants in the natural community.
VI. List of used literature.
1.Who are they, red forest ants?
My parents and I often go to the forest. There I see huge heaps, over which small insects - ants - quickly rush. Who are they, red forest ants? How do they live? I wanted to know about these inhabitants of our region.
After studying a lot of literature, I learned that there are currently about 6 thousand species of ants; in fact, there are more of them in nature. About 125 species of ants live in Russia, the most common of which is the red forest ant, which inhabits the entire forest zone. They live mainly in coniferous and mixed forests. Red forest ants are arthropod insects, membranous, common in the forest zone of Europe and Western Siberia. The size of an adult working individual is 4-9 mm, winged forms of “males and females” are 9-11 mm. The color of the head and back of the abdomen is dark, the chest, stem and joints are red. At the end of the abdomen there is a device for spraying out a caustic secretion - formic acid.
There are several species of ants that engage in theft and slavery. Thief ants live mainly under anthills; they are small and therefore make narrow passages into which large ants cannot climb, and feed on the larvae and pupae of their hosts.
Each family of ants has its own territory, where it does not allow other creatures of its own kind. Here the ants form paths and constantly put things in order. The total length of these paths is about a kilometer, and the length of the roads in the middle of the nest sometimes exceeds seven kilometers. Sometimes wars occur between ants. The weaker ones run away, taking the larvae with them. Outside the anthill, nothing threatens anyone. Robbers capture the larvae in the middle of the nest. From the captives, the conquerors raise “slaves”, who then raise the children of the aggressors, monitor the cleanliness of the premises, and obtain food. Of the 15 thousand species of invader ants, there are three thousand.
2. Observations of the life activity of the anthill.
Ants live in large families not only in characteristic anthill buildings, but also in tree trunks, underground. But not everyone knows that this is the top floor of the anthill. Its main part goes deep underground.
I carried out my observations in sunny and cloudy rainy weather.
Before it rains, ants close the entrances and exits, and in good weather they sometimes bring out their white testicles to warm them. In fact, these are not eggs, but pupae from which adult ants emerge. The eggs that the female lays hatch into curved white worm-like larvae. Worker ants feed them a nutrient mass, then the larvae turn into pupae. The pupa lies in a cocoon and is very similar to an adult ant, only it is white and motionless. Then, either a worker ant—an underdeveloped female—or winged males and females hatch from the pupa. The age of winged males is short-lived. They will rise into the air in a brilliant swarm, and then descend to the ground and die.
And the females shed their wings and settle in the depths of the anthill until the end of their lives, laying eggs.
In the forest we found several anthills, which are under the protection of the local forestry department.
Having carefully examined the anthill, I saw that it consisted of needles, small twigs, pieces of bark and plant debris. At first glance, it seems that all this garbage is scattered randomly. Worker ants do all the work in the anthill: build, store food, protect. Some ants have “soldiers” - larger ants.
Among the red ants, the elderly sages work at the top of their house as an observer. Old ants are the keepers of information in the anthill.
It turns out that ants are the fastest to learn to find the right path in a maze. Formic acid helps them in this, which they also use for defense and offense. If a young female ant, due to inexperience, establishes an anthill in damp soil, its smart inhabitants build a path of pine needles so as not to get their paws wet.
If you put an ant on your hand, after a few seconds you will feel a burning sensation on the skin. The ant released formic acid for defense. If a young female ant, due to inexperience, establishes an anthill in damp soil, its smart inhabitants build a path of pine needles so as not to get their paws wet. These insects love not only to work, but also to relax. Ants sleep for about three hours, crawling into a hole in the ground and pressing their limbs closely to their body. When they wake up, they stretch and yawn like people.
If you take food from them with tweezers and put it in one place for a certain time, the results will show that the ants drag into the nest mainly pine cutworm caterpillars, sawfly larvae, various beetles and butterflies that are classified as forest pests.
I decided to take a red wood ant and examine it with a digital microscope.
It turned out that he has 6 legs, with the help of which the ant moves quickly.
3. Conclusions.
The benefits of ants.
Forest red ants benefit humans by helping them destroy dangerous pests of tree plantations. This is not difficult to verify if you conduct a very simple experiment. Observing an anthill, you can immediately notice that there are paths leading from it in all directions, along which ants scurry about; some run away from the nest in search of food, while others return with prey. In addition, they destroy slugs that damage tree foliage. These workers also spread the seeds of herbs and flowers. By digging underground passages, they loosen the soil, mix it, enriching it with organic fertilizers. Instead of earthworms, they transform the soil. The red forest ant eats many insects that are harmful to the forest. The trees around the anthill are greener and taller because the ants protect them from pests. In a day, an ant nest destroys up to 100 thousand harmful insects. The presence of ants in a forest is a guarantee of its health and the development of flora and fauna.
Ants have long been considered sages. In Kyrgyzstan, many years ago, a person who was planning a good deed went to spend the night at an anthill - this promised good luck.
Some people sometimes stir up anthills with sticks, thereby disturbing the normal life of the ants. Thus, the forest is deprived of its most reliable defenders.
Ants are very beneficial insects. By protecting anthills, we save our forests!
VI. Literature used:
1. Forest and environment. Molchanov A.A. Science. 1968
2. Suvorova P.I. Insects - friends and enemies. Education. 1979
3. Forest entomology. Vorontsov A.I. Higher school. 1975
