1
Like all insects, ants have six legs. Each leg has three joints. The legs of the ant are very strong so they can run very quickly. If a man could run as fast for his size as an ant can, he could run as fast as a racehorse. Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight. An ant brain has about 250 000 brain cells. A human brain has 10,000 million so a colony of 40,000 ants has collectively the same size brain as a human.
2
The average life expectancy of an ant is 45-60 days. Ants use their antenae not only for touch, but also for their sense of smell. The head of the ant has a pair of large, strong jaws. The jaws open and shut sideways like a pair of scissors. Adult ants cannot chew and swallow solid food. Instead they swallow the juice which they squeeze from pieces of food. They throw away the dry part that is left over. The ant has two eyes, each eye is made of many smaller eyes.
3
They are called compound eyes. The abdomen of the ant contains two stomachs. One stomach holds the food for itself and second stomach is for food to be shared with other ants. Like all insects, the outside of their body is covered with a hard armour this is called the exoskeleton. Ants have four distinct growing stages, the egg, larva, pupa and the adult. Biologists classify ants as a special group of wasps. (Hymenoptera Formicidae) There are over 10000 known species of ants. Each ant colony has at least one or more queens.
4
The job of the queen is to lay eggs which the worker ants look after. Worker ants are sterile, they look for food, look after the young, and defend the nest from unwanted visitors. Ants are clean and tidy insects. Some worker ants are given the job of taking the rubbish from the nest and putting it outside in a special rubbish dump! Each colony of ants has its own smell. In this way, intruders can be recognized immediately. Many ants such as the common Red species have a sting which they use to defend their nest.
5
The common Black Ants and Wood Ants have no sting, but they can squirt a spray of formic acid. Some birds put ants in their feathers because the ants squirt formic acid which gets rid of the parasites. The Slave-Maker Ant (Polyergus Rufescens) raids the nests of other ants and steals their pupae. When these new ants hatch,they work as slaves within the colony. The worker ants keep the eggs and larvae in different groups according to ages.
6
At night the worker ants move the eggs and larvae deep into the nest to protect them from the cold. During the daytime, the worker ants move the eggs and larvae of the colony to the top of the nest so that they can be warmer. If a worker ant has found a good source for food, it leaves a trail of scent so that the other ants in the colony can find the food. Army Ants are nomadic and they are always moving. They carry their larvae and their eggs with them in a long column.
7
The Army Ant (Ecitron Burchelli) of South America, can have as many as 700,000 members in its colony. The Leaf Cutter Ants are farmers. They cut out pieces of leaves which they take back to their nests. They chew them into a pulp and a special fungus grows it. Ants cannot digest leaves because they cannot digest cellulose. Many people think ants are a pest but I like them. To stop them coming into my kitchen I put some sugar outside. They they have so much to eat that they are not interested in coming into my kitchen.

there are at least millions of ants immigrating to your homes as permanent residents

they probably even invade your food.

BEWARE

friends

seems like such innocent creatures eh?

What are friends?

Friends are people that you think are your friends.But they're really your enemies, with secret indentities and disguises, to hide they're true colors. So just when you think you're close enough to be sisters, they wanna come back and cut your throat when you ain't lookin.Friends are just enemies who don't have enough guts to kill you. Friends are like roses, you have to look out for the pricks. Sometimes your closest friend is your greatest enemy.Whoever says Friendship is easy has obviously never had a true friend.A friend in power is a friend lost. Don't believe your friends when they ask you to be honest with them. All they really want is to be maintained in the good opinion they have of themselves. How can sincerity be a condition of friendship? A taste for truth at any cost is a passion which spares nothing

Men kick friendship around like a football and it doesn't seem to crack. Women treat it like glass and it falls to pieces.

suddenly the word friends just doesnt make sense to me.it looks so...different.friendship...is a total stranger to me.you have each other now.good luck wit that.looking forward to see how long it lasts.threesome was long gone.and now im all alone.ironic aint it? f

i finally understand why people say sisters are the best.i'm thankful i have two =B

one day we'll grow old and still have mango ice together.Y

they still can be such a pain in the ass and a total biatch at times =B

我。爱。你。

with love: xue (: Y8:33 PM