The Behavior of Ants

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Why ants are so successful
It appears that ants were the first, and remain the only, social insect predators to utilize the moist, dark dirt and rotting vegetation for nesting. Since ants shed their wings after mating, they can crawl into a much smaller space than their relatives, the wasp. The wasp has wings and a relatively large thorax which limits where it can nest. The ant retains some of the weapons of the wasp, i.e. the stinger and other chemical weapons, which make the ant a mean and efficient predator.

One of the greatest advantages for ants is their social behavior. Working as a colony with specialized duties, they are more efficient than non-social insects in getting necessary jobs done. For example, when you have a number of individuals solely responsible for feeding larvae, there is a higher likelihood that the larvae will be fed by at least one individual. Other ants in the colony are responsible for bringing food to the feeders. Others are responsible for bringing food into the colony, etc. The feeders are specialized to complete their single task, and, therefore, do not have to succeed at a great number of tasks to get the food to the larvae.

Their varied mandibles are an irreplaceable tool for accomplishing the jobs necessary for the multiple behaviors displayed by various individuals of colonies.

The metapleural gland excretes antifungal and antibacterial materials that ants spread throughout their colonies through their wanderings. This protects their brood and their food supplies in the humid underground environment.

Mating
Most all ants mate in one of two ways. The first is known as the male-aggregation syndrome. At a time usually triggered by environmental events such as a large rainfall, the males and unfertilized queens, which have been patiently waiting underground, suddenly take to the air and swarm in what is commonly called the nuptial flight. This swarming often appears as a column of flying ants rising off the ground. The queen is usually inseminated in mid-air and then flies off to a locale where she breaks off her wings and begins to dig a hole either in the ground or in plant material, which will become her nest. She lays her eggs and remains with them until they hatch, living off of her own body reserves. Eventually they will hatch and become the first of her workers that will take care of her and the colony as it increases in size and numbers.

The female-calling syndrome has queens aggregating at the surface of colonies and calling males to them via pheromones. There are many exceptions to this basic description of mating. For example, some females are inseminated on the ground and then fly off to find their nests. With another species, the males will be swarming close to the ground waiting for females to emerge from their colonies. When she appears, they surround her in a rolling, writhing ball of males until the newly inseminated female breaks out of the ball after about 20-30 seconds and flies away to find a nest site.