The
different functions
Let's
start with the head.
The
head of the ant is intricate yet remarkable for it holds the eyes,
the
antennae, and the mouth parts.
The
eyes- the ant is equipped with several eyes for vision. There are
mainly two types of eyes: compound eyes and simple eyes ocelli.
The compound eye is made out of several ommatidia, which are made
out of many layers.
Like
any other eye, there is the lens cornea which is made from
the coneagen layer . When the ant uses its eyes, the light
shined into the retina. It then converts it into nervous
impulses to the central nervous system and the ant sees. The
number of ommatidia that an ant may possess in a single lateral
eye varies from 1,200 to 0.
The
ant also has three ocelli . Most ants have three such eyes
on the vertex of the cranium, placed in a triangle.
Do
you know?
Some
ants do not have compound eyes and simple eyes at all!
Female
ants have elongated scapes.
The
ant's mandibles can open and close independently! The
fastest moving biological tructure known to man is the mandibles
of the Odontomacus, which spring shut at an amazing 8.5m/s.
The
antennae- Each ant has a pair of multi-jointed antennae to sense
the surroundings. The scape and the funiculas make
up the antennae. Click on the antennae to find out more.
The
funiculas have multiple joints of the same size. However,
the terminal joint is elongated and club shaped.
The
mouth- Being multipurpose, the mouth is used to hunt, fight, weave
and transport. It has a upper lip labium. The mandibles
are used for grasping. Also there is a pair of accessory jaws
maxillae and tongue hypopharynx.
Now,
let's move on to the thorax.
The
thorax provides movement for the ant.
The
worker ant has three similar parts: the
prothorax, the mesothorax, and the metathorax.
The
thorax has three spiracles, two shielded.
The
abdomen
The
abdomen is composed of three main parts, the petiole, the
postpetiole, and the gastor. There are nine segments in the
abdomen, however one has become non existant in some species, and
several are hidden, leaving a total visible count of five or six.
Each of the segments are composed of two pieces, the tergites and
the sternites. The tergites are the over arching pieces, while the
sternites are the under arching pieces. The petiole and the post
petiole are the second and third segments of the abdomen,
respectively. The gastor is the last, bulbous structure of the
ant, and has a telescoping construction of seven segments. It is
in fact flexible and has a little freedom of movement.
The base
of the abdomen contains a particular organ, called the stidulatory
organ, that is comprised of a washboard type of construction on
one segment, and a set of very small teeth coming down from the
over hanging portion of the segment in front of t hat containing
the 'washboard.' The ant is able to produce a very high frequency
song with this organ by raking the teeth across the 'washboard',
with which she can signal to other ants.
Located
at the end of the gastor is the ant's sting and its accompanying
sheath. The ant is capable of extending the sting and injecting a
poison, usually a mixture of formic acid. It is this sting in
conjunction with the madibles that is used to administer the ant
bite. Unlike the sting of a bee, the ant's sting is not barbed and
can therefore be retracted to be used again.
