Q. DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF AN EGG BECOMING A COMPLETE ANT. DO YOU
FIND THIS PROCESS IN OTHER INSECTS ALSO? NAME FIVE SUCH INSECTS.
Answers
Answer:
An ant’s life begins as an egg. Ant eggs are soft, oval, and tiny – about the size of a period at the end of a sentence. Not all eggs are destined to become adults – some are eaten by nestmates for extra nourishment.
An egg hatches into a worm-shaped larva with no eyes or legs. Larvae are eating machines that rely on adults to provide a constant supply of food. As a result, they grow rapidly, molting between sizes.
When a larva is large enough, it metamorphoses into a pupa. This is a stage of rest and reorganization. Pupae look more like adults, but their legs and antennae are folded against their bodies. They start out whitish and gradually become darker. The pupae of some species spin a cocoon for protection, while others remain uncovered, or naked.
Finally, the pupa emerges as an adult. Young adults are often lighter in color, but darken as they age. The process of development from egg to adult can take from several weeks to months, depending on the species and the environment. Did you know that ants, like all insects, are full-grown when they become adults? Their exoskeletons prevent them from getting any larger.
Furthermore, adult ants belong to one of three castes: queen, worker, or male.
- Queens are females that were fed more as larvae. They are larger than workers and lay all the eggs in a colony – up to millions in some species! Queens initially have wings and fly to find a mate(s), but they tear them off before starting a new colony. A queen can live for decades under the right conditions.
- Workers are females that were fed less as larvae. They do not reproduce, but perform other jobs, such as taking care of the brood, building and cleaning the nest, and gathering food. Workers are wingless and typically survive for several months.
- Males have wings and fly to mate with queens. They live for only a few weeks and never help with the chores of the colony.
Explanation:
insects has different proccess
Insects grow through the process of metamorphosis, meaning that they undergo change. Insect groups that undergo a complete metamorphosis include beetles, moths, butterflies, sawflies, wasps, ants, bees, and flies. All these groups begin their life cycle as an egg. The egg hatches into a larva—such as a caterpillar, grub, or maggot—that feeds, molts (sheds its skin), and grows larger. The larva goes through an inactive pupa stage—for example, it is wrapped up in a cocoon—and emerges as an adult insect, such as a butterfly or beetle, that looks very different from the larva it once was. Other insect groups do not go through a complete metamorphosis, but rather experience gradual changes as they turn into adults. These include scales, aphids, cicadas, leafhoppers, true bugs, grasshoppers, crickets, praying mantises, cockroaches, earwigs, and dragonflies. Immature forms of these insects are called nymphs. The nymphs grow and gradually change size, shedding their skin along the way. After a final molt, the full adult form emerges.