I know that this is a strange question about ants, but according to my previous posts about ants, which had many visitors, i have found that our audience has many question about ants, questions which are all unanswered ! but here in pumpkeen, we want to talk about all of them, and this time about ” Do Ants Have Brains and Hearts?”
Take a look at these posts about ants
3 easy ways to get rid of ants
Where do ants live in the winter
By looking at these titles, you will find it that it’s not that much strange to answer this question “Do ants have brains and hearts ?”
Do Ants Have Brains?
Yes, they do – but they’re very tiny. To put it into perspective, ants have 250,000 brain cells. Humans have a whopping 10 million. Collectively, an entire colony of ants has the same size brain as a single human.
But ants still use their small brains very wisely. You can understand it from their life style 🙂
To make it more clear i suggest you to take a look at the anatomy of ants :
The nervous system contains the ants main brain and other,smaller brains called ganglia.The main brain controls the ants sight, touch,movement,and smell.The ganglia are bundles of nerve cells.They dont do much but help the brain control some of the ants actions.The ganglia help the ant sting and run around even when they have their head cut off.
The heart – the ants heart is a long tube.It pumps a whiteish blood from the abdomen to the brain.The blood spills out over the brain and oozes through the body to the abdomen.It then reenters the heart.As the blood flows, it nourishes the cells in the antennae,leg muscles,and other organs.
Researchers at Arizona State University found one species of ants actually sends out scouts to look for new homes. The scouts report back to the colony, and the colony votes on whether or not to move there. Even ants can be democratic.
Scouts go out looking for homes, and if they find something they like, they send out a pheromone message, essentially telling others to “follow me.” Another ant joins the scout to check out the place as part of what researchers call tandem running. Basically, the scout ant acts like a realtor, showing the other ant the new place.
Each ant that follows sends out another message if they approve of the home. Eventually, all of the remaining colony members follow if enough scouts vote in favor of the location.
Ants may not have large brains, but they succeed in doing something most humans struggle with: working together.
Do Ants Have Hearts?
Yes, but it’s not like the human heart.
Ants, and insects in general, do not have a vein system or arteries. They have an open circular system, and their “heart” looks like an elongated tube.
Haemolymph is the ant equivalent of blood. It’s what transports nutrients, hormones and metabolic products. The ant’s heart is what circulates the haemolymph. The heart is more like an arteria and is surrounded by a few small muscles.
And now you know the answer of Do ants have brains and hearts ? YES !
I Love ant colonial mechanism even though I am not a biologist