Ants. What are those super-sized ones? Supertankers?

[Duer 157099]

Whenever the ants decide to forage around my house, I make it my mission to make sure they have plenty (of tainted nectar) to take back to the nest, and in the process I spend some time observing them.

Every now and then I see an ant that is twice or thrice (is that a word?) the size of the regular ants, and I have tried to observe their behavior to try to discover what their role is. At first I thought they must be the supertankers of the tribe (tribe? what is a group of ants called?) and then fill up their big bellies with the (sweet ant bait) food to take back to their queen or whoever. Then, after watching some more, I thought that they were like sentries because they would go up and down the line seemingly checking up on the little worker ants, but never going into where the food was.

So does anybody know what these are? Do all ant species have this or is it unique to a certain type, and if so, which?

They constitute from 0.1 to maybe 5 percent of the population.

Or are these some other insect who just joins in when they see ants going somewhere?

Any entymologists here who know?

:shrug:

[Skip Intro]

1. A group of ants is called an army, I believe. A well deserved name. I hate ants. Well, not the black

ones that don't really seem set on attacking and biting, but I don't like them either. They find a way into my house every summer. But the red ones. The big mounds. The attack instinct. They're like wasps without wings. Fire ants? Whatever they are, I don't like 'em.

[Duer 157099]

4. Army works. Or colony?

I guess tribe just isn't right.

This is driving me a little bit nuts, I can't even Google the answer. I don't know which key words would provide what I'm looking for, and so far I've been unable to find anything that describes this.

I'm tempted to go capture some but if they are supertankers then I want to make sure they deliver their deadly cargo to their fellow colonists.

[some guy]

2. thrice is a word.

I know nothing about ants.

:hi:

[hayu_lol]

3. Carpenter ants are very large...

they can do as much damage to a house as termites. Better call a bug guy for an inspection.

[Duer 157099]

5. But these big ants are only a minor subset of the population

They are never the guys scouting, but once the scouts find something and the troops arrive, these supersized ants are always with them, going up and down the line.

I am perplexed.

[elleng]

6. All about ants

http://www.pestworldforkids.org/ants.html

[Duer 157099]

7. Here's a photo of the miserable little fockers

[RandomThoughts]

13. I don't think ants fits the metaphor.

Ants don't have honey :D




As far as being poisoned, I learned that years ago, when first smeared and when I immediately returned to face down the smearers, they did things a few times like put feces in food I ordered and stuff like that. You puke fast and get back in the fight of not fighting.

So such things as modifications to videos does not bother me.

And not posting modified videos would not help either, since that shows something also. And it would be fighting to think that someone injecting some bad into something would have a bad effect, except to show what they do.

The concept of being 'poisoned' is a naive view of existence.

[Aristus]

8. "Colony" is the correct collective noun.

B-)

[Duer 157099]

9. Could these be queens? Do queens wander around with the workers?

Now I'm thinking that I should capture them, just in case they are queens. What happens to an ant colony when the queen goes missing? I've been reading about Argentine ants, and it seems like these might be those, because apparently they have now colonized the whole world, and there is a super-colony in California. I bet a good portion of them are living under my house.

These Argentine colonies can have multiple queens. But still, would they be out slummin with the prols? :shrug:

[denbot]

10. I like the term tribe. I refer to them as the ant people, or ant nation.

Ants are important to many Southwest Indian mythologies. I like them and don't interfere with them other than removing what ever has caused them to invade our house. My wife hates ants and at one time used to poison them but because she knows how I feel those methods are no longer used.

Instead of getting mad at the ants she gets mad at me until the ant people find another place to be.

To answer your question, the big one are very likely the warriors. Warriors protect the gatherers while they forage.

[Duer 157099]

16. I tested the warrior hypothesis

I stuck a stick down near one of the big ones and it ran away while the little ones all quickly jumped onto the stick to see what's up. It was almost impossible to get the big ones to get on the stick. So, either they are cowards or just really smart. If they are warriors and are smart, then how come they wanted to run away from a potential attack? Nah, these weren't warriors. They acted more like queens "Oh no! A stick! Get away from me you stick! I am the QUEEN!!"

[csziggy]

11. Wikipedia has the answer! Different sizes or "castes" of worker ants

In the colonies of a few ant species, there are physical castes—workers in distinct size-classes, called minor, median, and major workers. Often the larger ants have disproportionately larger heads, and correspondingly stronger mandibles. Such individuals are sometimes called "soldier" ants because their stronger mandibles make them more effective in fighting, although they are still workers and their "duties" typically do not vary greatly from the minor or median workers. In a few species the median workers are absent, creating a sharp divide between the minors and majors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant#Polymorphism

[Duer 157099]

14. Hmmm, yes I was reading about that somewhere

Right now I'm trying to specifically identify them based on this site:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/TOOLS/ANTKEY/index.html

So far, it looks like they are Argentine, in which case the workers are all of uniform size. I'm still trying to get a high enough resolution photo to make a positive ID.

[Kali]

12. are these all kind of medium to small black ants?

they are probably different castes of workers. there are some slave taking species of ants that may show up with different sized workers, but I think the ones likely to be in your house are probably workers and soldiers of the same species.

Colony is the normal term for a... well, colony of ants.

[Duer 157099]

15. They're not black, more brownish.

The Argentine ants have multiple queens, but I wonder if the queens hang out with the workers? :shrug:

[Kali]

21. I think I read that they do indeed occasionally go out and forage with the workers

but probably not that many of them - also I think they are dark - try looking up Pharoh ants, might be what you have
possibly carpenter ants - is there damp wood they may have access to? they can be pretty destructive

one thing you can do is capture a good sample of them and take them to a university - or even a pest control place, but I'd be a little wary they would be all about giving you the woprst news and trying to sell you services you might not need.

[Duer 157099]

23. Eureka! I think I finally know for certain!

They are Argentine ants. Check out this excerpt from the Wiki page:

Argentine ants are a common household pest, often entering structures in search of food or water (particularly during dry or hot weather), or to escape flooded nests during periods of heavy rainfall. Argentine ant colonies almost invariably have many reproductive queens, as many as eight for every 1,000 workers, so eliminating a single queen does not stop the colony's ability to breed. When they invade a kitchen, it is not uncommon to see two or three queens foraging along with the workers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentine_ant

Just as I suspected, those "supertankers" WERE the queens; I knew it when I challenged them with a stick and they ran away like little babies. Queens, sheesh.

[jobycom]

17. Aliens.

They are the aliens training the rest to take over the world.

[dembotoz]

18. Aunt Bea????

[mikeytherat]

19. Probably soldiers.

That's why they get the job - big and strong.

mikey_the_rat

[TZ]

20. Yep they are guarding the workers from predators, thats why they just appear to watch

Leaf cutter ants have this kind of thing as well.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w750744445077346/

[kimi]

22. Ooohhhhh

I've learned a lot here, but now I feel all itchy and scratchy.

Like there's ants on me or sumpthin.

[Duer 157099]

24. Here are some updates and what I've learned

I'm almost certain that the supersized ones are indeed Queens, especially the way they behave. I have found that they let the little worker ants go out and find the food souce and make sure it's OK (hahahhaha) and then The Royalty arrives to take advantage of the feast.

I have found that the Queens indeed DO go inside the traps to get the sweet food; in fact, they were in there in disproportionately larger numbers than the workers in some cases.

I've been snatching up all the Queens and drowning them and then waiting for new ones to appear, which they do. So far I have captured some 50 of the royal buggers! And every few hours, a few more turn up. This most certainly is one of those Argentine colonies (or rather, a segment of the mega-colony that is WORLD WIDE!)

I'm going to keep taking the Queens as long as they keep showing up. The workers are probably muttering to themselves that their Queens are being abducted by aliens or something.

Here are a few of them, swimming:

[Odin2005]

25. They are the soldier ants, they attack anything that endagers the worker ants.

[Duer 157099]

27. I don't think so. These were very cowardly, not warriorlike at all.

I'm sure they were Queens, and all 50 of them met a watery demise. The invasion has stopped, for now.

No doubt there are more and they will show up again, but I'm ready for 'em.

[TZ]

28. ummm queens DO NOT leave the colony nests.

They are BREEDERS. And they are generally at most, three of them. But I only studied animal behavior for my zoology major, including social insects. What do I know.

[Duer 157099]

29. Yes they do, in some species.

And this species, the Argentine, most certainly does.

Not only do I have direct experience, but have read about it numerous places by now, such as here:

"Argentine ants have multiple queen colonies and the queens will often be found along argentine ant trails. (...) A typical colony consists of about 90% workers and 10% Queens"

http://www.epestsupply.com/ants.php#Argentine_Ants

[woo me with science]

26. Very cool thread. Thank you. nt

[Duer 157099]

30. "Ant mega-colony takes over world"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8127000/8127519.stm

Matt Walker
Editor, Earth News



A queen and worker Argentine ant have many, many relatives

A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered.

Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another.

The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.

What's more, people are unwittingly helping the mega-colony stick together.

Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) were once native to South America. But people have unintentionally introduced the ants to all continents except Antarctica.

These introduced Argentine ants are renowned for forming large colonies, and for becoming a significant pest, attacking native animals and crops.

In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the "Californian large", extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan.

More at link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8127000/8127519.stm

[Odin2005]

31. All hail our new ant overlords!

[Kali]

32. thanks for this thread

I dabble in natural history as a sort of life-hobby, studied social insects in college and zoology was one of my majors - in fact John Alcock, a rather well-known and respected authority was an instructor I had for several classes. Sometimes we think we know a lot about subjects we were once familiar with, but new information adds to the scientific understanding of the world. One should not be complacent about their "expertise" or arrogant about their experiences.

I did not know of the mega colony phenomenon, Argentine ants, nor even the existance of foraging queens in established colonies.