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Here the life cycle of the ant Myrmica ruginodis, a species of red ant, will be described. Most British ants go through the same cycle and any major differences will be highlighted as we go on.
Generally ant brood go through 4 stages as they develop: egg>larvae> pupae (or, in some species, cocoon)> adult . Ant eggs are tiny at approximately 0.5mm in diameter and weighing about 0.0005g, and are kidney shaped. They have a smooth sticky surface which enables them to bond together in a mass which aids adult ants to move them about more quickly, in case of emergencies for example; it is easier and quicker to carry many eggs in one go rather than having to pick each individual egg up.
The larvae, which hatch from the eggs, look very much like tiny maggots. As they grow they shed their skin, usually about 3 times in all, increasing in size with each moult from 1 mm to 4 mm. With each successive moult they become more hairy, with some of the hairs being hooked to enable, like the eggs, numbers of larvae to hook together for easier carrying, however, at the last moult the larvae are usually too heavy to hook together, and are carried singularly. There are some slight differences in the appearance of the larvae of various ant species, for example some are hairier than others. The larvae have no legs but they are capable of some very small movements such as bending their head toward a food source and, in some species, they can move along very slowly if necessary. When they feed they suck up the juices of solid foods brought to them by the adult worker ants, or they can receive regurgitated food from them.
Once the larvae have gone through all of the skin moults they conform to one final stage which is the pupae. Pupae look like white waxy ants that lay with their legs and antennae folded up against their bodies. Some species, such as Lasius niger, do not have a pupa stage but the larvae will spin themselves a cocoon in which it will metamorphosis into the adult ant. To be able to spin a cocoon the larvae must be against a solid object, this could be the ground, wall of a chamber or, in some cases, the larvae will be buried in the soil to assist them in the spinning of the cocoon, only to be dug up again by the adult workers once the cocoon is completed.
The larvae, which hatch from the eggs, look very much like tiny maggots. As they grow they shed their skin, usually about 3 times in all, increasing in size with each moult from 1 mm to 4 mm. With each successive moult they become more hairy, with some of the hairs being hooked to enable, like the eggs, numbers of larvae to hook together for easier carrying, however, at the last moult the larvae are usually too heavy to hook together, and are carried singularly. There are some slight differences in the appearance of the larvae of various ant species, for example some are hairier than others. The larvae have no legs but they are capable of some very small movements such as bending their head toward a food source and, in some species, they can move along very slowly if necessary. When they feed they suck up the juices of solid foods brought to them by the adult worker ants, or they can receive regurgitated food from them.
Once the larvae have gone through all of the skin moults they conform to one final stage which is the pupae. Pupae look like white waxy ants that lay with their legs and antennae folded up against their bodies. Some species, such as Lasius niger, do not have a pupa stage but the larvae will spin themselves a cocoon in which it will metamorphosis into the adult ant. To be able to spin a cocoon the larvae must be against a solid object, this could be the ground, wall of a chamber or, in some cases, the larvae will be buried in the soil to assist them in the spinning of the cocoon, only to be dug up again by the adult workers once the cocoon is completed.
© Alex Wild