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Ants are one of the most widespread insect species on earth. They
are social insects living in colonies. There are 3 types of ants in
colonies, the worker ants who search for food and repair nests, the queen
ants and the drones. Ant colonies in homes are found in spaces between the
walls, fittings and in indoor potted plants. There are more than 11800 species of ants, most of them occur in the wild. In nature, ants are useful as they eat up all organic waste and dead material. The most common ants are the black ants and the red ants. When they enter homes, they can be a nuisance as they eat all available food. They prefer sugars, proteins and oils. During summers, when water sources dry up, they enter homes in search of water. Ants usually travel on the ground and communicate with each other through a chemical trail containing pheromones. When food is found, a pheromone trail is left between the food source and the home of the ant. The other ants are attracted to this food trail and will carry part of the food to their home. If the established food path is blocked by placing an obstacle, the ants will search for a shorter path and leave a new pheromone trail. A crushed ant will release a high concentration of pheromones to alert other ants. Red ants are more likely to bite human beings. If ants feel threatened they will bite the skin of human beings. Ant bites are very painful, injecting poison into the body. An ant bite makes the skin red and causes pain and itching which lasts for an hour. After a few hours a white pustule will be formed, which usually dries up after a few days. In rare cases, ant bites can cause death. To avoid ant bites, hands and legs should be fully covered. |
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