Читать книгу Extreme Insects - Richard Jones - Страница 13

NAME	carpenter ants Colobopsis truncatus (and other species)
LOCATION	worldwide
ABILITY	uses its head as a living gate at the entrance to its burrow

Ants gain protection from a complex social hierarchy that generates workers to forage and build, and soldiers to fight and protect. The nest that they build and protect is the ants’ most important asset. Ants need to protect their nest from many enemies, including predators, parasites and other ants who would like to raid the valuable protein invested in the brood as well as any food stores laid up against hard times.

Soldier carpenter ants have evolved huge mallet-shaped heads with which to bar their nest entrances. Small holes are blocked by a single soldier, while for larger entrances several soldiers gather together to form a living barricade. The soldiers seldom leave the nest, but are fed by the workers that constantly come and go.

When a worker needs to exit or enter the nest (see opposite), it is recognised by the blocking soldier, which pulls back into the broader tunnel behind. It is thought a combination of the host nest’s chemical smells and the ‘right’ tactile signals from the worker’s antennae identify it as a fellow citizen. If there is an attack on the colony, alerted ants release a chemical called undecane from a gland in their abdomen. This creates rapid excitement of other ants, and the many soldiers rush to block all external and internal tunnels.