Ants are among the most common insect, with the greatest quantity of around 9,000 species.  There are 600 more species of ants in China.  Ants have a long life; worker-ants can live several weeks up to seven years, while the queen can live for decades.  One ant colony can survive up to 50 years.  Ants’ body is separated into three parts – the head, thorax and abdomen, with six legs.  The egg is 0.5mm long, irregular oval shape in milk color.

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Ants have three major characteristics as a social insect – the particular species group feed on pupae; specified distribution of work; several generations live in one colony, and the younger generation look after the older one.

There are four member groups of ants in one colony‭ ‬

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l、Queen: to produce, biggest size in the group, especially the abdomen and the reproductive organ.  They have short antennae and short forelegs.  They lay eggs, hatch eggs and manage the society.

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2．Drone: fertile males. Small round head, little palate, short antennae.  They have well developed reproductive organs.  They mate with the queen.

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3．Worker: wingless, the smallest size commonly, but of great amount of quantities.  They have small compound eyes, palate, antennae and three pairs of well developed legs for mobility.  Workers are non-productive males.  Their function is to build and expand the colony, collect food, feed pupae and the queen.

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4．Soldier: big head, well-developed palate, can break solid food into pieces; they are the fighters in the society.

 

Red imported fire ants

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Red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta are widely spread over Parana of South America (including Brazil, Paraguay and Agentina), invades South America in the twentieth century.  They have strict division of labour, like gatherings and attack, other livings are seriously threaten in the environment.  Its tiny body (approx. 2-4mm), is difficult to be distinguished from other local ants, only different in their ant hills.  The concentration of the adult red imported fire ant can have as much as 10-30cm above the soil, their nest can have 30-50cm in diameter inside the hill.  Its society is huge, can have one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand individuals in a nest.