Page 27 - The Miracle in the Ant

1. Air Defence System: When the greatest enemies of ants, birds, approach the nest, some of the fighters turn their
bellies upward in the opening of the nest and spurt acid towards the birds.
2. Greenhouse: In this chamber looking south, the eggs of the queen ant mature. The temperature of the chamber
°
is constant at 38 C.
3. Main entrance and side entrances: These entrances are guarded by doorman ants. In time of danger, they close
the doors with their flat heads. When other inhabitants of the colony wish to enter through the door, they tap on the
doorman ant’s head with their antennae with a special rhythm and the doorman ant opens up the entrance. If they
forget this rhythm, the guards kill them right there and then.
4. Ready-made chambers: If ants find an old nest where they build their nest, they also use those chambers of the
old nest which have maintained
their shapes. Thus, they gain sig-
nificant time in completion of the
structure.
5. Storage cemetery: Ants put the
non-consumed grain shells they
collect and the bodies of other
dead ants into these rooms.
6. Guards chamber: The soldier
ants located here are in a state of
alarm round the clock. When they
sense the slightest danger, they
swing into action.
7. Exterior insulation: This insula-
tion, made up of pieces of branch-
es and twigs, provides shelter for
the nest against heat, cold and
rain. Whether the insulation layer
is decreased or not is constantly
supervised by worker ants.
8. Nursing chamber: Nursing ants
produce a sweet fluid from their
abdomens. Raiser ants pierce their
bellies by means of their antennae
and utilize this fluid.
9. Meat depot: Insects, flies, crick-
ets and enemy ants are stored in
this depot after being killed.
10. Grain depot: Miller ants bring
large pieces of grain in the form of
small tablets here, to utilize them
as bread in winter.
11. Childcare for larvae: Nurse
ants use their saliva, which has an-
tibiotic properties, to protect baby
ants from disease.
12. Wintering room: Ants who hi-
bernate, starting at the beginning of November and waking up in May, spend the long winter season here. When they
wake up, they clean this room as their first duty.
13. Central heating department: Mixing of leaf pieces and twig bits here produces a certain heat. This keeps the nest
temperature up to between 20 and 30 degrees.
14. Brooding room: Eggs of the queen mother are stored in this chamber in the order they are laid. Then, when the
time comes, they are picked up from here and taken to the greenhouse.
15. Royalty room: The queen mother lays her eggs here. Assistants who continuously feed her and clean the cham-
ber stay with her. 6