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Introduction
Around us, there are many mysterious things that we have not still discovered. Animal’s
world is one of these. There are about million different species of animal, from huge and
powerful species as dinosaur, lion, etc… till tiny species as bee, butterfly, etc…Each of
these plays each different roles to help balance the ecology and various in species.
However, when somebody was asked, almost they just know about huge and powerful
species much more than tiny species which in fact that have many benefits more than we
imagine. Therefore, we will get information about one of these tiny species. Although it
is just a small animal, it has been call “Earth’s most successful species”. Furthermore,
there have many interesting things about it. It is ants.
II. Basic information
Ant is a small social insects that live in organized communities called a colony.
There are near 20,000 species of ants that vary in size, color, and ways of life. Most
are a dull, drab color such as brown, rust, or black. Besides that, some kinds of ants
are yellow, green, blue, or purple. The largest ant species can reach over 1 inch in
length, while the smallest is about 1/25 of an inch. Some ants can lift items 50
times more than their weight.
According to the scientist, the first ant appeared in our planet about 140million-
150million years ago. At this time, with small size, they often became food for the
other insect. After 6 million year, by the way live in organized communities, ant
makes the golden time of their species. The development of ant continues until
now.
3. Movement
Despite of the small, ants still have ability to find their food far from their nest and come
back exactly and safety. According to the scientists from Sheffield university, there are
two important factors which help ants can determine the direction by themselves when
they find food far away from the nest. Firstly, it is the angle’s amplitude of two ways that
they made. Secondly, they have a special chemical signal that is not only used to mark so
they can find the way back into their house easily but also help the ants that follow
behind don’t lost the way.
4.Ability of leading:
In the process finding their foods, it seems that they have “leading ants” and
“staff ants”. “Staff” has responsibility to remember the place where has food and report
to their “leader” by feeler. The leader also teach the staff how to locate and memorize the
place where have their foods. According to Nigel frank professor, the guidance and
education of ants are not imitation. Ant is a kind of insect which has the brain smaller
than the human millions times but it is very good at teaching and learning. The leader
guide the way to the staff to find the food. During the way, they adjust the speed so they
can go together. If the leaders finds foods alone (don’t have the staff), they can go to the
place where have foods faster than go with the staff about 4 times. Teaching to the staff
how to memorize the place have food and transmit the signal by their feeler can make the
process very slowly. Sometimes the leader have to “snap” and “drag” the staff to go to
find the food. It can become faster and faster. The ants that are the leader willing to
change the behavior of others ants and accept to reduce their private effect.
5.Defense
Ants have many different kinds of defending themselves and attacking. When different
species of ants live in the same place they will defend for foods, nest sites or space. Ants
can bite or sting their enemies. Some genus of ants will spray chemicals if they are
attacked. There is a kind of ants which has name is Paraponera, has known as the most
painful sting of any insect. If someone is attacked by this ant, they can be killed because
of the poisonous sting. The genus Odontomachus is one of the animal kingdom which has
jaw can snap very fast with speed of between 126 and 230 kilometers per hour.
• As medicine:
According to the scientists, in China there is a kind of ants, which is used to make
pharmaceutical products. It can prevent people from some diseases and reduce the illness.
That why ants are used as food and drink to cure some diseases relate to joint, hepatitis.
2.Disadvantages:
Beside those advantages, the activities of ant also bring them into conflict with humans
and a number of ants now become pests:
• Ants can attack people and make them feel painful:
Especially, when children are bitten by ant, they will ache and hurt. They scratch
and make their skin abrade. There is a circumstance that had a man was attacked by the ant,
after few minutes, he itched all the body, felt sick, dizzy and oppressive. He was conduced
to the hospital. The doctor said that if he had gone to hospital latter, he would have been
died.
In Amazon forest have one species ant which have been called with the name
Allomerus decemarticulatus. It's the intelligent ant, which always set a trap to catch their
victim. The size of this ant is only about 2mm but they can catch the grasshopper which
has size 3cm. Ant undermines the trees, and makes the hole to take cover inside it. When
their victim come and don't realize what is going on, ant will crept and bite their victim
immediately, make their victim petrify. After that, ant lays the grasshopper on the leaf
and eats.
The scientist in Queensland has discovered the special ant, which is thought that the only
ant can swim in ant's world. Mr Simon Robson has found out this ant when he was
having a different research. He wanted to take a clip of the animal, which live in water.
His officer suggest to cinematograph this ant, he agreed and said that: ”Put it on the stone
in middle of water, ant can't go anywhere and you can cinematograph it. ”However, while
they were preparing to take the clip, this ant jumped into the water, swam and
disappeared. This ant lives on the tree mangrove, under the water. They can make the
oxygen-bubble and live into it; by the way, ant can swim and orient by them self. At this
time, this ant is continued as a subject to research.
IX. Conclusion
After getting information about ants, you certainly know many interesting things about
this insect. A small insect but is stronger than it looks like. Although it has some
disadvantages and sometime is called as complicated animal, it also has other benefits.
The problem is we should take advantages of its benefit and limit its disadvantage. In
addition, we also realize that even if it is huge and powerful animal or not, it is still
important , so the human should protect the living environment of not only it but also all
the other animals as well.