Bortnichestvo This is borti, the oldest primitive way of beekeeping, a favorite pastime of the ancient Slavs - the inhabitants of the forests. The local peasant considers it a sin to catch swarms: "The bee is God's creature, free, it is a sin to force it," he says. Since ancient times, beekeeping has been a significant industry: wax was exported through the Dnieper to Greece. Numerous glades covered with heather serve as a feeding place for bees. Heather blooms from August 1 to September 15. At this time, millions of bees make a hum, circling over the heather and collecting nectar.
Anthill A covering of needles and twigs. Protects the dwelling from the vicissitudes of the weather, is repaired and updated by worker ants. 2. "Solarium" - a chamber heated by the rays of the sun. In the spring, the inhabitants come here to warm themselves. 3. One of the entrances. Guarded by soldiers. Serves ventilation duct. 4. "Cemetery". This is where worker ants carry dead brethren and garbage. 5. Wintering chamber. Insects gather here to survive the cold in a semi-hibernating state. 6. "Bread barn". This is where the ants store grain. 7. The royal chamber, where the uterus lives, laying up to one and a half thousand eggs a day. She is cared for by worker ants. 8. Chambers with eggs, larvae and pupae. 9. "Cowshed" where ants contain aphids. 10. "Meat pantry", where foragers bring caterpillars and other prey.
The value of ants in nature and human life 1) Participate in the soil-forming process (loosening, oxygen enrichment, fertilize, mix); 2) Regulate the number of insect pests of the forest (destroy the larvae); 3) Ants are the only pollinator of cocoa. And without them, we would never have tasted chocolate; 4) Formic acid is effective means against mites that kill bees. These mites gnaw through the chitinous cover and suck out the hemolymph.
Ants are the largest family of insects in terms of the number of individuals. And in terms of the number of species, few families can argue with him. Now there are approximately species of ants, but, given that every year more and more new species and genera are described and the fact that ants of many areas the globe almost unexplored, this number will be greatly increased. All ants have a characteristic feature by which they can be distinguished from any other Hymenoptera: between the chest and abdomen they have a thin stalk of one or two segments, while in all other Hymenoptera the abdomen is directly articulated to the chest.
If in bees and wasps within the same family we can observe all stages of the transition from a solitary lifestyle to a social one, then ants, without exception, are social insects. Under laboratory conditions, individual working individuals can live up to 34 years. There is a case when an ant lived for seven years. Females live much longer up to 20 years.
Scientists observe the life of ants in special glass anthills. Imagine their surprise when it turned out that not all ants are as hardworking as it is commonly believed! Observations have shown that 80% of ants are engaged in social useful work- clean the house, collect food; but the rest - beat the buckets. The situation has not changed even after the scientists removed some of the "working" ants. For the remaining hard workers, activity began to boil with a vengeance, and the idlers remained out of work. A possible explanation for such a strange behavior of the latter, according to the researchers, can be either their advanced age or pathological laziness.
Importance of bees in human life Honey. Contains about 60 various substances, mainly glucose and fructose and: Enzymes that speed up the body's metabolism; Minerals: Ca, Na, Mg, P, Fe, S, I, Cl, Rd; Trace elements: Mn, Si, Al, B, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Pb, etc. organic acids; vitamins; Phytoncides with antimicrobial, antiseptic, antifungal effects. Propolis, or bee glue. Contains essential oils, wax, pollen. Medicinal properties: Pain reliever (5.2 times stronger than novocaine); Antipruritic; Antimicrobial; Tones the body, improves immunity; Strengthens tooth enamel; Relieves and softens calluses.
The value of bees in human life Royal jelly. Contains mineral salts, sex hormones, trace elements, vitamins, etc. Therapeutic effect: Increases the content of red blood cells and hemoglobin in the blood; Increases appetite and increases weight; Stimulates hair growth; Improves memory and vision; Increases immunity. Beeswax. Rich in vitamin A, necessary for the development of the epithelium of the skin, bronchial mucosa, throat, nose, stomach and intestines, for visual acuity. It has an antimicrobial, nourishing and regenerating effect. Bee venom. Therapeutic effect: Has a pronounced anti-inflammatory, analgesic effect; Increases the overall resistance of the body, immunity; Antimicrobial; Expands blood vessels; Reduces blood pressure; Reduces viscosity and blood clotting; Reduces blood cholesterol.
Many species of highly developed insects (termites, bees, ants, wasps) live in complex communities. They have such a well-organized organization that sometimes they resemble a "superorganism" that is powered by a queen queen.
BIG FAMILIES
In numerous "states" of insects, which form termites, ants, some species of bees and wasps, each member of the community - the uterus, workers, soldiers and drones - performs its own, clearly regulated function. Such a division of labor is the main condition for the existence of the colony. Individuals of such a community are so dependent on each other that they can no longer exist independently. For example, worker termites are guarded by well-armed soldiers who are unable to survive without workers, since they cannot get food on their own and depend on workers to feed them. In turn, workers and soldiers are not able to reproduce. The function of reproduction lies on the uterus , around which the colony is formed. The queen lives inside the nest, she is fed by workers, and soldiers protect. All bees of one colony, and there may be about 80,000 of them, are descendants of one queen and older sisters to newborn individuals. They are all genetic twins, therefore have a highly developed social instinct.
FORMATION OF A COLONY
In autumn, with the onset of cold weather, all individuals of the wasp colony die, with the exception of fertilized queens. Shortly before the nest disappears, several sexually mature pairs appear in the colony of wasps, which fly away and mate. Males soon die, and females, feeling the approach of winter, hide in warm places. In the spring, the fertilized queens come out of their shelters and each of them builds a nest from wood treated with special enzymes, consisting of 10-12 hexagonal cells. Eggs are placed in these cells of the uterus. The queen queen feeds the larvae with gruel from semi-digested insects. The larvae grow rapidly and soon turn into sterile worker wasps. After the birth of workers, the queen no longer does any economic affairs, she only lays eggs, and the workers build new cells, take care of the eggs and grow larvae. social system some species of ants and termites are somewhat more difficult. Worker ants are divided into several castes, depending on the work they perform. Some, for example, have the task of spraying enemies with formic acid, that is, waging a kind of "chemical war", while others are delivering nectar to the warehouse. Termite larvae are miniature copies of adults. Soldiers develop from them, which have powerful jaws or a stinging apparatus that secretes a sticky substance that can become a trap for enemies.Termite workers and soldiers are wingless and blind individuals.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
In most insect species, with the exception of the breeding season, there is no need for communication. In social insects, on the contrary, communication between members of the colony is vital. Some species have developed a perfect system for transmitting information. Body language is often used for this. For example, honey bees, with the help of a special dance, very accurately inform their fellow tribesmen along the hive about the way to the place where, according to them, there is a source of nectar. Ants use a different method. Having found a significant source of food, they return to the anthill, leaving behind a persistent odorous trail. Other ants, following this path, also leave their odorous marks, which is a guide for the rest of the colony. Pheromones play a very important role in the life of all types of social insects. Hungry larvae secrete a special substance that is the signal "feed me". The uterus secretes its pheromones and thus sends its own signal to the workers, reminding them of their duties. At certain intervals, the workers exchange glandular secretions with the queen, and thus a close relationship is maintained between them A community of many insects that has lost a queen is doomed to death: insects do not know what to do, for example, workers stop working.Worker bees, left without a queen, can grow a new one: for this they build special cells and feed the larvae with special food.
termites
The social structure of termites is made up of three types of insects: the uterus (queen), soldiers and workers.
Uterus: lives in the center of the colony. She has a large body with hypertrophied ovaries (up to 10 cm long) that constantly produce eggs - many millions of eggs throughout her life. The winged male who fertilized the female dies. The queen lives for about 10 years.
soldiers: large and darker than workers, with large heads and extremely strong jaws. They guard and protect the colony from enemies.
workers: small, soft-bodied insects white color. They build a nest and maintain order in it. Unlike other social insects, worker termites come in both sexes.
Ants
Almost all ant species are social insects. They live in anthills.
Uterus: its only task is to take care of procreation, to lay eggs.
workers: wingless sterile males up to 30 mm long. They take care of the queen, larvae, build and repair the anthill. If the anthill is attacked by enemies and there is no one to "fight", then the workers defend the colony.
soldiers: Like workers, they are wingless and barren, but somewhat larger, with large heads and powerful jaws. Their task is to protect the anthill from enemies.
bees
Bees live in communities of up to 60,000 insects.
Uterus: the only one in the entire colony. The queen manages the hive and lays eggs. It has no organs to collect pollen, so workers feed it.
workers: collect pollen and nectar from flowers, feed juveniles, queen bee, drones and guard the colony. They build honeycombs, consisting of regular hexagonal cells, which are a storehouse for honey and an incubator for eggs. Worker bees communicate information to each other about food-rich places with the help of a special dance, accurately indicating the distance to them and the direction of flight.
Drones: their only purpose is the fertilization of the uterus. Drones are fed by worker bees. After mating, they die.
wasps
Some public views wasps live in large colonies. Unlike bees and termites, the nest is used only for one summer. In autumn, all wasps die out. Only fertilized founding females hibernate and build a new nest in spring. Wasp nests are built from cellulose - pieces of wood mixed with saliva.
Insects living in a single community: ants, wasps, bees and termites have always aroused special interest and surprise among people. This is reflected in numerous myths, legends and traditions. AT ancient Greek mythology Ants were the symbol of the goddess Demeter. And one of the most ancient images found in Europe turned out to be the Queen of the Hive. Social insects play a critical role in almost all terrestrial ecosystems. Wasps and most of the ants act as predators, termites, especially in tropical ecosystems, as the most important destroyers of plant residues, and social bees are pollinators of many wild and cultivated plants and producers of medicinal products.
Hierarchical intra-family ties and complex structures of interaction between community members still attract the close attention of scientists. To solve a riddle collective mind Humanity has tried animals since ancient times, and judging by the fact that our ancestors used images of insects for the image of the gods, it indicates that they understood this secret and actively used it to control human communities.
What is the essence of this natural phenomenon? What is going on?
BEES - PUBLIC INSECTS. In the world of animals with Nikolai Drozdov. Video (00:04:59)
Nests of social insects: bees, wasps and ants. Video (00:45:14)
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Features of the behavior of social insects
The behavior of insects is determined by a combination of conditioned and unconditioned reflexes, instincts, taxis and tropisms (you can read more about this).
Social insects living in colonies and interacting with each other in a complex way have all these components of behavior, but instincts are most strongly expressed in them - long chains of reflexes that start one after another according to a kind of "domino effect". Sometimes instinctive behavior causes such complex sets of actions that it is hard to believe that ants, termites, bees and wasps lack the ability to think and fully communicate with each other.
For the manifestation of instincts and others complex shapes behavior correspond to specific areas of the brain. In many social insects, these areas are very well developed and enlarged relative to the rest. For example, the so-called mushroom bodies, which are responsible for the integration of information received from the senses, occupy a sixth of the brain volume in a honey bee, and one third in a Formica ant. The brain itself is also more developed in comparison with other insects.
Key Features behavior of social insects are as follows:
This can be illustrated by another experiment. Near the road of the small forest ant, a special device was installed: two cameras, two curtains covering each of these chambers, and two threads connected to the curtains. If an ant pulled on one thread, the curtain opened, and in the chamber, the insect received sugar syrup as a reward. There was nothing behind the other curtain. The ants quickly realized what was happening, and opened the chamber, which contained the syrup, more than 60 times per hour. Moreover, sometimes some ants pulled the thread, keeping the curtain open and giving others the right to feast on the syrup.
Another feature is that social insects purposefully and harmoniously can perform one common work necessary for the interests of the colony. They build anthills, get food, carry out masonry and care for them in accordance with some kind of unspoken agreement in which each member of the community is assigned a certain role. (a photo)
Behavior and division into castes
It would be impossible to ensure the autonomous existence of a colony if all insects in the group had "equal rights". Therefore, within a family, social insects are usually divided into castes - subgroups whose representatives perform certain tasks. On the example of bees, you can see that in the hive there is only one queen that lays, several drones that fertilize her, and all other individuals are worker bees. They are responsible for life support, food storage, egg care, etc. Accordingly, these three subgroups have absolutely different models behavior. The structure of the community in ants is even more complicated. In some genera and species of ants, “scouts”, “foragers”, “warriors”, “water carriers”, “nannies”, etc. are distinguished among working individuals. In total, there can be up to 11 castes in one anthill, and they behave, respectively, in different ways.
The behavior of social insects in general is very complex. But within each family, the "acts" of its individual members are more similar than the actions of different insects one species leading a solitary lifestyle. This is explained by the fact that insects in a group live in approximately the same conditions, so they develop similar conditioned reflexes and form similar life experiences.
However, each insect of the family is unique. It has been found that the ability to learn and other innate properties vary among different members of the community, even within the same caste. In other words, as among people, among ants, bees, etc. There are "stupid" and "smart" ones. Their behavior is different.
wasps
There are many more examples of how amazing the behavior of social insects can be. But even these examples make us convinced that in their development representatives of the class Insecta sometimes even surpass organisms that are at higher stages of evolution. It is precisely the peculiarities of the behavior of social insects that to this day make some experts express the opinion that, probably, along with everything else (reflexes, instincts, etc.), insects have rudimentary forms of rational activity.
form among themselves organized groups(societies) acting as a whole. Such are many membranous-winged - ants and bumblebees, as well as some bees and wasps. A similar way of life was acquired by termites - insects with incomplete transformation.
Family
Everyone at the heart of the group publicinsects lies the family, but the family has greatly expanded and transformed.
It consists of a fertile female (she is called a queen or queen) and her many barren daughters, forming a caste of workers. The uterus is usually much larger than the workers, and its organism is adapted to produce very a large number of eggs. Workers feed the queen, build chambers for eggs and larvae, and nurse the larvae until they become pupa. In most cases, the uterus lives longer than barren daughters (in ants, 6-7 years, up to 18 years). Workers build and repair the nest, clean it, ventilate it, heat it, protect it from the outside and on the approaches to it. They scout for new sources of food, collect it, take it to a nest where they can different ways pack, preserve and process. They may take care of mushroom plantations or their "milk animals".
Social insects share food with each other all the time and everyone can use its reserves.
Each working individual has programs for all forms of labor necessary for the prosperity of the family. Usually, the insect switches from one type of work to another depending on its age.
But in some social insects, workers are divided into podcasts, such as foragers (food gatherers) and soldiers. The latter have a body structure different from foragers - powerful adaptations for defense and attack. They protect the nest and foragers, wage territorial wars, but they themselves cannot get food.
In termites, the composition of the family is somewhat different: the working caste consists of barren individuals of both sexes, and their father is kept in the nest with the female and fertilizes her as needed.
Communication (communication)
Family members very clearly interact with each other, understand each other thanks to the innate communication system.
It is based on "language" - a complex code of signals, sound, visual, tactile and chemical. With the help of such a language, it is impossible to convey any information (that is, two bees, unlike us, cannot “talk” about anything). But on the other hand, in strictly defined areas, very complex information can be transmitted. For example, returning from a new flowering tree to a hive, a scout bee, using an innate encoding program, translates information about the direction to blossoming tree, the distance to it, the abundance of flowers and the form flowering plant into a set of standard movements that she will perform in front of other bees in the hive (the so-called dance). Forager bees, following the dancing bee and repeating all its turns, decode the dance, and they nervous system receives information embedded in the dance by a scout.
For deciphering the informational meaning of the dance of bees, which excited the mind of man since ancient times, the German entomologist Karl Frisch was awarded the highest award in the scientific world - the Nobel Prize.
Uterus
Previously, people thought that the insect society was like a state, and was controlled from some center. Did you think that the uterus rules the family, that's why she was called the "queen". Now we know that there is no such center, and all members of society interact on the basis of behavior programs and information flows coming from individual to individual. material from the site
The role of the queen in management is that she can lay eggs, from which either barren workers will come out (and they can be of different shapes, if the species has sub-castes), or fertile males (drones) and females (future queens) . But workers can also partially control this process. In Hymenoptera, males are not used in the family. Their function: they must fly away, meet fertile females from other families who went on a mating flight and fertilize them. A fertilized female stores sperm throughout her life. This ensures that all individuals born in the family are consanguineous (that is, descended from one father and one mother) sisters and brothers.
