Being underground, ants can sometimes be a mysterious creature. We go on about our day without a thought of the drama that unfolds under our feet. Kingdoms of insects rise and fall every day and for the most part, we are oblivious. This article will focus on some of the behaviors of ants that we don’t always think about. Will ants eat dead ants? No, this is a myth. They actually will bury their dead to protect against disease.
When an ant dies, its carcass will begin to deteriorate much like other animals. When this happens, oleic acid is produced. This acid is a pheromone for these insects, telling them that this is trash and needs to be taken out. A dead ant will do this because they can carry disease that can make other workers, or even the queen sick. In order to protect the colony, and especially the queen, ants will bury these carcasses in the dirt. This is one way that these insects are actually cleaner than most other insects. These carcasses also can attract scavengers and predators.
DO ANTS EAT DEAD BUGS?
Some ants will definitely eat dead bugs. These insects as a whole are considered omnivores. This means that they will eat either plant or animal material. Many times, species of ants act as scavengers, cleaning the forest floor of dead and dying plant and animal material. This includes other dead bugs. Another food source for ants is a substance called honeydew. This is a substance that aphids release that is high in sugar content. Some colonies will even farm aphids, protecting them in exchange for their honeydew.
Ants will also attack and eat other live bugs. Termites are one of their favorite prey. A colony will over run a termite colony and carry off as many termites as they can. Termites do have defenses, but even their soldiers are not good fighters. In the end, most of the defense brought on by termites consists of slowing down the incoming ant onslaught long enough for the workers to seal off their tunnels. If you’re having a problem with either ants or termites, call the best Broken Arrow pest control company in town.
DO THEY EAT DEAD ANIMALS?
As scavengers, ants will find and eat dead animals. Different species have different preferences when it comes to their food supply. While sugary substances such as nectar and honeydew are needed for energy for the workers to finish their duties, the young larva need more protein to develop. Dead or dying animals can be easy pickings for the tiny ant. Attacking an animal that is much larger than these insects doesn’t make much sense, but a dead one is far game.
Scavenging the surface for these gold mines of food, workers will return to the nest with a portion of their spoils. They will leave a trail of pheromone, or smellable hormone. Other workers will follow the trail back to the food source. This gives ants the ability to navigate back and forth to a food location, even if they were not the original worker to find the carcass. Your Tulsa pest control company has more information.
DO ANTS EAT OTHER ANTS?
Species of ant differ in this matter, but there are species of ant that will prey upon another ant species. One of the biggest examples of this behavior is the thief ant. Thief ants will set up their nest very close to the nest of the pyramid ant. They will pose as a worker to the larger pyramid ant, and then go inside and steal a larva, returning to their own nest. Here they will break it down and feed it to their larva.
Many predatory ants have larger mandibles with which they use to fight and kill their prey. These insects most often prey upon termites and other insects, but will also find another species of ant and make a meal out of them. Because of their numbers and shear strength, they can overcome their prey and feed off of them. Call the best Tulsa exterminator today!
CAN ANTS REVIVE OTHER ANTS?
Ants have been known to carry their injured back to their nest, and even try to free an ant trapped in sand or a sticky substance. Worker ants are in their adult stage, so if it loses a limb, this would be permanent. If the adult was able to continue to move, it would gladly continue its work, or protect the nest or whatever its function was. Because ants don’t feel pain like we do, it would have no problem doing this.
Ants communicate with pheromones, or scent based hormones. When attacked, or stuck, a worker will release an alarm pheromone to alert other workers from the colony. This would initiate the rescue attempt. Of course, injured ants that die would emit oleic acid signaling that their corpse was trash, and then it would be buried or disposed of. When you find these creatures in your home and kill them, often you will come back to find more ants. These workers are responding to that oleic acid. They’re just trying to recover fallen comrades!
GETTING RID OF ANTS FROM MY HOUSE OR BUSINESS
Sometimes ants build nests in the wrong place, such as your home or business. In theses cases, it’s important that you respond correctly. Many ants have developed defenses against over the counter pesticides that are found in stores. Knowing what type of ant you are up against and the strengths and weaknesses of that ant will give you the tools that you need to be successful at removing these insects.
Because of this, you need to call the best Broken Arrow exterminator, TermMax Pest Control. We specialize in finding the perfect solution for your pest control issues. We service the greater Tulsa area including Jenks, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Owasso, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Pratville, Coweta, Catoosa, Claremore, Turley and much more. Call us today for a free estimate. We’re here to hel