Lomehuza Bashny.Net

We offer you an article on lomehuze, which is a model of any degrading and dying society in general, and I believe the current Russian society in particular. Step 1: Infection

In its social structure ants - are closest to the human beings on Earth. Every new discovery in myrmecology (the science of ants) only confirms this.





Before us is a healthy nest red wood ant (Formica rufa). For this type of ant characteristic dome, the top layer consists of a layer desyatisantimetrovyh sticks, needles, dry leaves, stones. Ants nesting material constantly stirred, to the anthill has not begun to rot - a kind of forced ventilation. The height of our anthill - 56 cm diameter - 98 centimeters. Dome has 11 holes. Estimated population of the anthill - about 10 thousand. Under the dome located tipping cameras that store eggs, larvae and pupae of ants. Even deeper - a rotten stump or large branches. Under the ground to a depth of 1, 5 meters are interconnected chambers. In one of them lived queen.



The ant hill there is a strict hierarchy and roles. Nest operates the queen - the female lays eggs. Worker ants - also female, but they do not produce offspring for as long as the queen is alive. The life of 15-20 years, the queen, worker ant - up to 7 years. Males live only one season in the life of an anthill not participate and die immediately after mating.

In the immediate vicinity of the Queen is a suite of 10 - 12 worker ants, they take care of her: her lick and feed. It is usually the young ants, as all the inhabitants of the nest are about one month courtship stage either the queen or for larvae. Then they are moving to the farthest portion of the zone of patrolling ant (its radius reaches 5-6 meters) and there are engaged in search of food - foraging. Found food ant passes up the chain of command, and only from there it is distributed around the nest. Together with the pastoral care of a particular food ant pheromone - a substance that releases the queen. It provides information about the health and condition of queen nest. The substance of the ants lick suite with queen, was transferred to a special goiter and pass each other in the chain. Thus all individuals ant society are included in a single information space.



The anthill operates its own system of punishments. For example, if a healthy ant furazher repeatedly returned to the nest with nothing, it "executed" - killing himself and allowed to forage. Curiously, completely different ants come to those who have lost the ability to work due to injury. They are fed up until they are able to ask for food, that is, tapping a mustache on certain parts of a healthy head of an ant.



Ants - active predators, but at the same time they hold and "cattle." In his role appears aphids, the ants eat not only herself but also her selection. It is not a form of parasitism, because without formic care aphids die much earlier by other predators. Ants herd aphids on blizrastuschih plants protect them. And at the first request aphids allocate their surplus nectar. In order to "to milk" aphids ant mustache tickles its belly.

But sometimes an anthill gets a little bug light brown - lomehuza. Beetle enters the tipping chamber, which houses ant offspring, and lays the eggs. All attempts to deal with the inhabitants of the nest a stranger he meets that allocates special substance that the ants immediately lick and fall into a state of euphoria. Under the influence of this substance, they just fade away and calm down for a while.



Lomehuza

So begins the destruction of an anthill.

Step 2: Look enemy

Lomehuza - "bug-drug dealers» (Lomechusa strumosa), which turned out to be amazed by our anthill - an insect from the group myrmecophily. In total there are 266 species of myrmecophily - insects and other invertebrates that live together with the ants. Among them are many parasites. But representatives of this group of parasites or enter into a mutually beneficial relationship (symbiosis) or cause damage, do not lead to the destruction of all nests. All but lomehuzy.

This species was first described in detail the German researcher Vassman in 1897. It is a tiny bug - about three times smaller than red wood ants. Most often he gets to the nest from the air and penetrate through one of the inlets.

Ants do not mend his obstacles as immediately addicted to the narcotic substance, which he identifies. Moreover, they immediately begin to feed him because the beetle is able to request ants food - tapping mustache on certain areas of the head. Sometimes lomehuza hits the anthill from neighboring nests, which have established a healthy relationship anthill. Infection occurs in the metabolic roads. Ants are willing to share "beetles drug dealers", transporting them to the abdomen. Likewise, they carry with them lomehuz, budding from their anthill in order to create a new family.



Lomehuzy have exactly the same process of development of the offspring, like an ant egg - larva - pupa - adult insect. The female "beetle drug dealers" lays 100-200 eggs right next to the ants - they are absolutely indistinguishable. When the larva hatches lomehuzy becomes noticeable one difference - it is concave abdomen. But at this stage it is already able to ask for food and starts to produce the drug, so the ants are now though and recognize a stranger, but begin to take care of larva lomehuzy as their own offspring. Adult beetles live here, in the anthill. They will live there as long as the ant is able to feed them, pulling on more of its resources. But while this process takes place under the dome, and hidden from the observer. To distinguish the affected lomehuzoy anthill from healthy at this stage can only be a sunny day, when all the inhabitants of the nest crawling on the surface of the dome to warm up. But after a few minutes the ants lomehuz dragged back under the dome. They still think the team anthill.

Step 3: A new disease

Until now, a disease of our anthill developed in a latent form. She could see a specialist myrmecology. The cupola chamber together with their offspring larvae of ants cultivated lomehuz - his future death. They recognize them strangers, but they could not resist the larvae secrete a narcotic substance, which resist the ants can not.

But now, even the layman, if you look close to the dome of the anthill, it becomes clear that the socket is created that something was wrong. Compared to other anthills his life seemed inhibited. Ants are much less active zone patrol nest narrowed, and where furazhery still working, you can see the following picture: the ant is trying to drag something, but then throws his job and just loiter. Hanging out.

The first thing that comes to mind - they were all stoned. But it is not. Those who dwell under the influence of substances emitted lomehuzoy usually sit in an anthill. Lethargy individuals that we see on the surface - this is a new generation of ants. By analogy with the people they can be called ant-downs.

In the language of science, they are called psevdoergatami. On the main plan of the structure is still working individuals, but part of their breast when compared with healthy individuals increased slightly. So apparently they are a cross between the workers themselves, and females. In fact psevdoergaty unable to either lay eggs or to mate with males. Nor can they fully perform the functions of worker ant.

Psevdoergaty still trying to do some work, because the nest is still quite active ants that make them work, but they do it badly. However, among the more active ant species sits on substance produced "bug-drug dealers," so compelling with their weaker hand. This antisocial eating ants on a par with everyone else. Thus, the balance of revenue and expenditure of the budget of our anthill disturbed ants forage starts lacking to support all - and the queen, and lomehuz and psevdoergatov and healthy ants, whose numbers are rapidly decreasing.

Studying this phenomenon, scientists myrmecology initially believed that occurrence psevdoergatov associated with underfeeding larvae, since a substantial portion of the power is now given lomehuzam ants. Put forward another version - psevdoergaty appear as a result of the disease is a virus carried by "beetles drug dealers." But then, science has established that the cause of the psevdoergatov - all the same narcotic substance secreted lomehuzami. That is now our anthill hobby grew into a drug addiction epidemic stage, which determines not only the behavior of ants, but their physiological structure.

Step 4: External intervention

Our anthill all rapidly degraded. The narcotic substance secreted by parasitic beetles lomehuzami was the cause of the ants in the nest Down (psevdoergatov) that are not capable nor procreation, neither active socially useful activities. Lomehuz and psevdoergatov becomes more anthill. So, more and more parasites, and less food. A little more, and the process of degradation becomes irreversible.

Whether anthill more numerous, the process could drag on for years: zhuki- "drug dealers" slower breed ants, they just do not keep up with population growth would be, hitting only some sectors of the nest. But our ant is small, so it can save only external intervention - cleaning.

We should hurry. Shoe anthill from lomehuz possible as long as no time to breed in large numbers ants-downs. For cleaning we need two containers (buckets fit the usual with a tight lid), a large piece of plastic the size of 1, 5 to 1, 5 meters, rubber gloves and a shovel. We find the healthiest sector of the anthill, cut off his shoulder blade, like a piece of cake to move quickly into the bucket - along with ants, larvae, eggs and nesting material - and a tight-fitting lid. The contents of the bucket of ants pour small portions of polyethylene and carefully sort out. So how are sorted grits for porridge: we just move healthy ants and nesting material from one heap to another. "Zhukov-drug dealers" and terminally ill ant-down (psevdoergatov) to catch, throw and we press. Each purified batch anthill immediately move into the second bucket.

Lomehuz learn easily - they differ from ants sizes (2-3 times less) and color (bright brown). It is more difficult to psevdoergatami - from healthy ants, they do not differ much. But their outstanding performance. Healthy individuals immediately begin to carry out its functions: collect the scattered foragers of polyethylene construction material, nesting ants are showing concern for the larvae and eggs, ants bite guards offender. Only psevdoergaty loiter.

The entire procedure of cleaning took us just over an hour. Dead lomehuzy and psevdoergaty fit into one faceted glass - some of them we dissected for scientific purposes. While cleaning, we came across one female-queen, but even if they were infected in the nest, you can not worry: just in August ants swarming occurs - mating season. In the nest appear winged males and females, they are actively mating in the air and lack of fertile females do not. Now you only find a place for surviving anthill.

And those who remained in the affected lomehuzami nest, no one will help.

Step 5: Afterlife

Previous stage experience showed that anthill, struck lomehuzami ("beetles drug dealers" parasitic allocated them using narcotic substances) bound to perish. The only chance for salvation - to resort to compulsory cleaning, removing hand lomehuz and terminally ill ants (psevdoergatov). Unfortunately, our anthill was hit epidemic of drug abuse so much that was able to save only a portion of the slot. Saved by individuals are now at us in a bucket, tightly closed lid.

Now you need to find a place where they could settle down and establish a new nest. Red wood ants like humidity, so the edge of the clearing and disappear immediately. It would be the best place in the forest, that are identical in composition, where our previous anthill. Mandatory requirement - the distance from the parent nest must be at least a kilometer. Otherwise, our healthy ants just dying to return to the anthill, and nothing could save. The proximity to other nests, even if they are not impressed lomehuzami also desirable: their inhabitants, most likely, would react with hostility to strangers and emerging anthill plunder. There are some types of forest ants slaveholders that capture larvae from other nests and then grow their own are the slaves.

Finally we found the perfect location - in the spruce forest, next to a small rotten stump. Carefully pour the contents of the bucket, and the ants immediately begin to settle in a new place. Queen ants nest and dig holes in the ground, the other specimens are placed in their larvae and eggs, others collect spill out of the nest nesting material, and a fourth - start to patrol the area. Earth extracted during the construction of burrows, immediately goes to the construction of the shaft around the future of the nest - a resemblance to the human characteristic of all urban settlements of red wood ants. To speed up construction, it is possible to outline around the circumference of the shaft leaves, twigs, sawdust - ants they immediately pick up and use in the case.

As compared with how it occurs in nature, our ant constructed in more difficult conditions. Usually, family, forming a new nest, does not break due to the mother's nest for a long time and gets out of there help and support. Nevertheless, even in conditions of complete isolation of our anthill reborn and on the third day becomes familiar shape.

Even after 3 days the dome grows up to 15 centimeters, and a week later we had an ant hill is no different from the previous.

Two weeks later, at the first place we found ant mound, which is already overgrown with grass. Ants no longer here, no one to sort out the nesting material, ventilated canopy stopped and began to rot.

And in the new location dome has grown by 5 centimeters. This jack is no longer afraid of "beetles drug dealers." Science ants - myrmecology long established an interesting fact: purified from lomehuz anthill gets immunity against them drugs. Why - scientists do not know, but it's true.

This article shows a striking example of the destruction of the society of the fifth priority control.

The experiment was conducted with the help of the head mirmekologicheskogo reserve "Pawns" Dr.Sci.Biol Anatoly Zakharov, as well as scientific advisor Tatyana Putyatina professor Dr.Sci.Biol Gennady Dlusskiy.

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Source: oxyxo.ru