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In the case of fire ants, the venom consists mainly of alkaloid (>95%) and protein (<1%) components. [2] Stinging ants cause a cutaneous condition that is different from that caused by biting venomous ants. Particularly painful are stings from fire ants, although the bullet ant's sting is considered by some to be the most painful insect sting.
These ants have a two-segmented petiole (a petiole and postpetiole) connecting their abdomen to the thorax. They have 10 segments in their antennae, which end in large segmented clubs. Thief ants possess small stingers on their oblong abdomens. Worker ants have large jaws for carrying food, usually other ants' brood, back to the colony.
The genus Myrmecia is among the most primitive of all known living ants, and ants of the genus are considered specialist predators. [ 106 ] [ 107 ] Unlike most ants, workers are solitary hunters, and do not lay pheromone trails ; nor do they recruit others to food.
They are notoriously aggressive hunters able to subdue formidable prey such as bees and other ants. Unable to eat solid food, adult ants feed on juices from the prey insects; the meat of the prey is fed to the colony's larvae. Their diet is supplemented by the workers' own trophic eggs, which are commonly fed to the queen and larvae.
Like all ants, they can also make use of visual landmarks when available [134] as well as olfactory and tactile cues to navigate. [135] [136] Some species of ant are able to use the Earth's magnetic field for navigation. [137] The compound eyes of ants have specialised cells that detect polarised light from the Sun, which is used to determine ...
Fire ants have been known to form mutualistic relationships with several species of Lycaenidae and Riodinidae butterflies. [10] [11] In Lycaena rubidus, the larvae secrete a fluid that is high in sugar content. Fire ants bring the larvae back to the nest, and protect them through the pupal stage in exchange for feeding on the fluid. [11]
Summer is a time for outdoor fun in South Carolina, but it can also be a time of home invasion by ants. Here are the species that cause the most problems. 4 SC ant species coming for your home ...
The pavement ant is dark brown to blackish, and 2.5–4 millimeters (0.10–0.16 in) long. A colony is composed of workers, alates, and a queen. Workers do have a small stinger, which can cause mild discomfort in humans but is essentially harmless. Alates, or new queen ants and drones, have wings, and are at least twice as large as the workers ...