The importance of ants
Although ants usually produce rejection, they are insects that can give us lessons and some are very important. In total, about 12,580 species of these hymenoptera have been recorded throughout the world. That is, there is twice the variety of mammals, which represents about 15% of the mass of living terrestrial organisms on the planet. But what would happen if these insects went extinct? purpose of ants what are ants attracted to
The truth is that it would be catastrophic. If all the ants were extinguished the imbalance would produce global chaos . Something that makes sense if we take into account that there are about 168,000 ants for each person, that is, they weigh the same as us. So they have their importance, and if there were no ants, the effect would be very serious.
Interesting: The importance of spiders
Ecosystems would be badly damaged, they would deteriorate rapidly. Indirectly, the loss of other species would be enhanced. In a short time we would observe a huge accumulation of large quantities of corpses of other insects on the ground, since they would not have their food supply: ants. Thus, other animal species , as well as plants , would become extinct . purpose of ants
In short, the importance of ant is very high on this planet, since if they would happen the following:
- The balance of the ecosystem would be damaged.
- Organic matter would accumulate in the soils, which would take much longer to decompose.
- Many other animal species would die.
- Many plant species would disappear, which depend on the activity of ant to pollinate and reproduce.
Without ants, the planet would lose a large part of its biological diversity, since they fulfill an important number of roles in the environment. So, if you wonder what the tasks of ants are in nature , take note.
To begin, they disperse the seeds that fall from the plant to the ground, a process scientifically known as myrmecocoria. Without this type of organisms, plants could not spread, something fundamental because some species prevent the growth of more plants around them, so they must move away from each other. what are ants attracted to
It is true, this dispersal of seeds can be done by other organisms, but some plants need ant so much that they secrete a kind of mass called sweet elaiosome, which contains the seeds of some plants and whose function is to attract them to take the seed. on the way to the anthill. Without this help, many seeds would not germinate . Also, ants are capable of pollinating . They do not fly like bees, but they can carry pollen to nearby plants, allowing the plants to fertilize. what are ants attracted to
On the other hand, they also control diverse populations of invertebrates. This is the case of predators, which ingest small insects or even reptiles. Near the tropics, any animal that doesn’t fly or can’t go fast enough is preyed upon by legionary ants. At the same time, the non-existence of these living beings with three pairs of legs would greatly annoy arachnids, as well as some vertebrates, such as pigs and anteaters, who could no longer taste them. purpose of ants
The only good thing is that if the ants disappeared completely, surely more than one farmer would celebrate.
In summary, the functions of ant in the ecosystem are:
- Disperse seeds, allowing new plants and trees to emerge.
- Pollinating, which also allows plant life to reproduce.
- Feeding on some insects and other invertebrate animals, which helps maintain species balance.
- Feeding on decomposing organic matter, which is why they help to clean and take advantage of organic waste.
- They are food for many animal species, such as anteaters, spiders, pigs, etc.
