Seeing them up close, however, is a different story. Ants are built like powerful machines, able to carry more than 10 times their body weight and withstand a great deal of force. Understanding their anatomical makeup and functions is beneficial to knowing how to treat and control them.
So let's take a closer look, shall we? Like all insects, an ant has six legs and is made up of three parts: the head, thorax and abdomen. Arguably the most important part of the ant is located on its head — the mandibles. These are essentially jaw bones, but they're used to hold and carry things, like our hands. Powerful muscles located in the mandibles allow the ant to capture prey, bite, dig and perform other essential jobs. The mandibles cover the ant's mouth, which is used to eat obviously and clean itself.
Ants have notoriously poor vision, despite the fact that they have compound eyes. To make up for this, attached to the front of their heads are long, elbowed antennae.
The shape allows them to move the antennae both in front of and behind their heads, so they know what's surrounding them as they crawl. The antennae are also used to smell and communicate with other ants.
The architecture of the ant's thorax is unique among species of flying insects. Worker ants have an enlarged thorax and strong neck muscles that allow them to hunt and carry prey many times their own weight.
The thorax also has muscles that allow the insect's legs to function. Ants are climbers and runners and can move very quickly for their size. At the end of each leg, they have a hooked claw that helps them climb and carry objects. While not all ants have wings , the male ants and new queens do, and they're located on the thorax. The wings are only used during mating season so the ants can travel to their mates. After the mating has taken place, the male ant dies and the queen removes her wings.
Bonus fact: There's technically a fourth segment of the ant's body, called the "petilous. Some species however, have perfect eyesight like the Australian bulldog ants and weaver ants. They can see and determine the size of objects from a distance. Their eyes are comprised of numerous identical closely-arranged facets known as ommatidia. In general, ants can comfortably live and function without eyes, simply by using their sense of smell, touch and taste detected by the antennae.
If an ant finds food, a chemical trail known as pheromone will be left to guide the rest over. Since they have no blood vessels, they breathe through small openings all over their bodies, called spiracles.
The breathing system contains a network of very tiny tubes called tracheae that extend throughout the body to supply oxygen. Oxygen enters through these holes and carbon dioxide leaves through the same. However, haemolymph does not transport oxygen as human blood does.
These jointed legs, attached to the thorax of the ant, are flexible and strong. Ants have six legs coming out of their bodies, along with claws at the ends of each leg. The claws are used to grasp food and other items they need to carry. The ant can use its front legs to clean the body and touch objects as well. The thorax of the ant sits between the abdomen and the head. Additionally, queen ants have wings that they use to fly and find a mate.
The wings are attached to the thorax as well. After mating, the queen will shed the wings, as she no longer needs them.
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