Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and belong to the order Hymenoptera. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies. Larger colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers.
About Ant in brief
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories and consist of millions of individuals. Larger colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers, as well as soldiers and other specialised groups. The colonies are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity, collectively working together to support the colony. The word ant and its chiefly dialectal form emmet come from ante, emete of Middle English, which come from ǣmette of Old English, and these are all related to the dialectal Dutch emt and the Old High German āmeiza, from which comes the modern German Ameise. It has been hypothesised that a Proto-Indo-European word *morwi- was used, cf. Sanskrit vrah, Greek mýrmēx, Old Irish moirr, Old Norse maur myre, Dutch mier, Swedish miere, Crimean Gothic miera, and French fourmi are derived. Some species, such as the red imported fire ant, are regarded as invasive species, establishing themselves in areas where they have been introduced accidentally.
The only places lacking indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands.Ants thrive in most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Their success in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships. Their ability to exploit resources may bring ants into conflict with humans, however, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. The original meaning of the word was ‘the biter’, and the word ‘ant’ is from West Germanic *ǣmaitjōn, which means ‘bitter’ or ‘bit’. The family name Formicaceae is derived from the Latin formiga, Italian formica, Spanish hormiga, Romanian furnică, andFrench fourmi. It is thought that the word ant was used to refer to a species of stinging stinging nettle, which evolved from a lineage within the stinging wasps. In 1966, E. O. Wilson and his colleagues identified the fossil remains of an Apoidea that was once known as Ants. In 2013, a study suggests that they are a sister group of the Apoididae, which includes sawflies, bees, and bees.
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This page is based on the article Ant published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
