What is the “ant war of ants” on a global scale?



Ants are one of the familiar insects for human beings, but it is not well known that the “great war” that billions of ants are spreading on the earth still continues. An animated movie explains Kurzgesagt, a science-based YouTube channel, about the war that Ali is developing.

The Billion Ant Mega Colony and the Biggest War on Earth-YouTube


Ants are fighting in almost every place on the planet. The ants use only their own abilities that are naturally born. Some ants have a strong skin ...



Some ants have a poisonous needle and others have a sharp lower chin.



While there are ants with various abilities,

Argentine ants are short in length and are not characteristic ants. However, the Argentine ants are the seeds that build an unprecedented huge empire that has a vast nest that spans the continent and causes a war that kills millions of victims.



The area where the Argentine Ant War was most intense is one of the floodplains located in

Parana, Brazil.



Parana's floodplain is the “ant conflict zone” where dozens of ants including the alien ants selected as one of the world's 100 most invasive alien species, Guntai Ali and Argentine ants compete for victory.



The length of Argentine ants is about 2mm to 3mm. The lower chin on the head is a smaller seed.



The figure showing the size difference from the rival is Kore, the left is Argentine ant, the center is Hiari, and the right is Guntai ant.



Argentine ant nests range from small to large, sometimes located under stumps or in fallen leaves, or in some cases using nests used by other species of ants.



Argentine ants ’biggest weapon is“ number ”. The Argentine ant queen ants one new queen ant for every 120 worker ants. Since the number of eggs laid in a day is 60, the Argentine ants will increase twice as fast as games.






As the number of Argentine ants increases, the queen ants work and take an ant group to become independent and create a new nest.



However, Argentine ants in new nests have mutations in their DNA with each generation to adapt to the new environment. Then, the Argentine ants in the original nest will be recognized as 'another clan' and will fight each other.



At the end of the 19th century, there was an “incident” in which Argentine ants that had been fighting with other species and other nest ants in the state of Parana were transported to South Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Madeira Islands, Portugal Get up.



New Orleans and the Madeira Islands were almost free of Argentine ants.



Not just landed in the absence of natural enemies, but a small number of Argentine ants who migrated to new lands, genetic diversity has declined.



As a result, Argentine ants do not become another clan even if they move to another nest, they are recognized as being in the same clan, and even those born in different nests can freely come and go `` super Will form a 'colony'. Only 16,000 species of ants form super colonies.



The Super Colony born on the west coast of the United States has expanded explosively at the world level, mainly in the coastal areas of

six major provinces . Today, Argentine ant “megacolonies” exist across vast areas across the ocean, including the West Coast of Europe, Europe, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.



Compared to the simple population, the Argentine ant's mega colony outperforms human society, and thus has a major impact on the ecosystems in each region.



One example is California, where 90% of native ants, including those that were state-specific, have been destroyed by Argentine ants.



As a result of the predation of Argentine ants, some spider and fly species can no longer live in the Argentine ant territory.



Argentine ants also invade human territories. We feed on leftovers in the trash, pet food, and leftovers in the kitchen.



On the other hand, even if it is an aggressive Argentine ant, we will not reach out only to aphids that live together with ants. This is a problem for humans because aphids are pests that eat crops.



To make matters worse, crops are severely damaged because the aphid-eating beetle is destroyed by Argentine ants.



I think that expansion can no longer be stopped, but in recent years wars between Argentine ant super colonies have been confirmed. The war that occurred near Lake Hodges in California has a front that spans several kilometers. It is estimated that about 30 million victims per year of this war are estimated, and one Argentine ant is dead per second.




In addition, Hiari, who has been brought from Brazil to Alabama, will join this battle. Fire ants are also species that form super colonies.



The ants that used to fight in Parana now started fighting in Alabama.



The fire ants are more than twice as long as the Argentine ants, and the tail has a needle to inject the alkaloid poison.



The fire ants drive the Argentine ants that were spreading the plate in the eastern United States to extinction.



However, despite the loss of the eastern United States, the territory of Argentine ants is still left around the world, and ant wars will continue.



in Creature,   Video, Posted by darkhorse_log