From Egg, to Ant 1/18/2018
Ants go through three different stages of life before becoming a full grown ant. In this post, I will go in depth into them and how each is kept healthy by the colony.
Stage 1: Eggs
Like many insects, ants are born as eggs. The eggs are produced by the queen(s). They need to be kept at a healthy temperature and humidity for them to develop. These eggs will turn into larvae, given some time. This stage can last from a week, to multiple months, depending on the conditions and the species of ant that they belong to.
Stage 2: Larvae
During the larval stage is when the young ant does most of it's growing. It starts off as a tiny larva, only about the size of the egg it emerged from. Then, as time progresses, the larva gets fatter and fatter, as the workers feed them the protein they need to develop. Once they are ready to move on to the next stage of their life cycle, the ants will do one of two things. Some ants, form "naked" pupae. They will simply shed their larval skin, and underneath will be the body of an ant. This stage will typically be the shortest stage of ant development, and can last from around a week, to multiple months, also depending on conditions and species.
Stage 3: Pupae
The pupa stage is the last stage of development for an ant before it becomes an adult ant. During this stage, the now pupated larva, will develop first develop it's internal organs. Then, the pupa will begin to change color, and it's exoskeleton will harden. During this time, the pupa will change color. If the adult ant is red and black, the areas that will become red and black start to slowly change color. Once the pupa is almost at it's final color, the workers of the colony that are designated brood (young) caretakers will help it in it's transformation into an adult ant.
First, if the pupa has a cocoon of silk around it, the workers will gently tear it off. Then, the workers will gently pull at the limbs of the ant. This allows for the membrane securing the pupa together to break, and helps the pupa "wake up". Slowly yet surely, the ant begins to gain control of it's limbs. Within an hour or two of this process, the newly born adult ant will start to stand, but will be very clumsy.
These ants are known by ant enthusiasts as "callows", since their exoskeleton is very light, and hasn't yet hardened. As days go by, the exoskeleton of the ant will harden, and it's color will continue to darken, until it has reached it's final coloration. And, it will be able to stand without wobbling and walk normally. During the early stages of an adult ant's life, it is very vulnerable to due it's lack of a strong exoskeleton and inability to move fast without tripping. For this reason, if a callow needs to be moved, it sometimes curls into the shape of a pupa, and an adult worker carries it to a safer place. I have personally observed this in my colony of Novomessor Cockerelli, a species of desert harvester ant.
Hope you all learnt something, thanks for reading!
Stage 1: Eggs
Like many insects, ants are born as eggs. The eggs are produced by the queen(s). They need to be kept at a healthy temperature and humidity for them to develop. These eggs will turn into larvae, given some time. This stage can last from a week, to multiple months, depending on the conditions and the species of ant that they belong to.
Stage 2: Larvae
During the larval stage is when the young ant does most of it's growing. It starts off as a tiny larva, only about the size of the egg it emerged from. Then, as time progresses, the larva gets fatter and fatter, as the workers feed them the protein they need to develop. Once they are ready to move on to the next stage of their life cycle, the ants will do one of two things. Some ants, form "naked" pupae. They will simply shed their larval skin, and underneath will be the body of an ant. This stage will typically be the shortest stage of ant development, and can last from around a week, to multiple months, also depending on conditions and species.
Stage 3: Pupae
The pupa stage is the last stage of development for an ant before it becomes an adult ant. During this stage, the now pupated larva, will develop first develop it's internal organs. Then, the pupa will begin to change color, and it's exoskeleton will harden. During this time, the pupa will change color. If the adult ant is red and black, the areas that will become red and black start to slowly change color. Once the pupa is almost at it's final color, the workers of the colony that are designated brood (young) caretakers will help it in it's transformation into an adult ant.
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| A brood tender in a colony of the genus Formica, looking after it's large pile of pupae (Wikimedia Commons) |
First, if the pupa has a cocoon of silk around it, the workers will gently tear it off. Then, the workers will gently pull at the limbs of the ant. This allows for the membrane securing the pupa together to break, and helps the pupa "wake up". Slowly yet surely, the ant begins to gain control of it's limbs. Within an hour or two of this process, the newly born adult ant will start to stand, but will be very clumsy.
These ants are known by ant enthusiasts as "callows", since their exoskeleton is very light, and hasn't yet hardened. As days go by, the exoskeleton of the ant will harden, and it's color will continue to darken, until it has reached it's final coloration. And, it will be able to stand without wobbling and walk normally. During the early stages of an adult ant's life, it is very vulnerable to due it's lack of a strong exoskeleton and inability to move fast without tripping. For this reason, if a callow needs to be moved, it sometimes curls into the shape of a pupa, and an adult worker carries it to a safer place. I have personally observed this in my colony of Novomessor Cockerelli, a species of desert harvester ant.
Hope you all learnt something, thanks for reading!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteSorry, Could you please help me with a doubt?
I got a Novomessor Cockerelli queen, but im not sure if its a claustral or semiclaustral ant, do you know about it?
Thanks in advanced!
Hi Eduardo,
DeleteSorry for the late response! I didn't see this until now. Novomessor cockerelli is a semi-claustral species, and will need to be fed during the founding stages. they primarily take insects, despite being harvester ants.. I hope that though this is late it helps you in keeping your queen.