Especially during the spring season, you may see in your garden, or at home, small crawling insects, alone or in company, wandering towards a specific mind. Well, it is once again the ants , creating a telltale trail from some apparently unknown point in the wall or thereabouts. If you notice more than one ant in your home environments, it is because their scouts have already come to scout, found some food and left a trail while bringing it back to the nest. And now the other ants have also sniffed out the good “hunting” territory.
Ants come and go every year, but… are they the same ants as last year? How long does an ant live ?
These are very common questions, which you could certainly ask a pest control specialist, in case your home is excessively prey to these insects. These specialists are in fact experts in finding out where the ants come from, which routes they take and what are the best solutions to prevent them from returning. In short, a consultation that will not only be useful to eradicate the current invasion, but also to avoid future ones.
However, if your goal is not to rid your home of ants, but you are simply curious to understand how long an ant lives , below you will find all the most useful information.
The life cycle of ants
Most ant species are considered social beings. That means they live in colonies, often very large ones. And, like all well-organized colonies, there are specific jobs that each member must do when they reach adulthood. But when does it reach adulthood?
Every ant goes through several different stages and… it all starts with an egg:
- eggs – the queen ant, at the center of the colony, lays many eggs throughout her life, and can create a large colony in just a few weeks! Fertilized eggs become female ants, which can become new queens. Unfertilized eggs become males;
- larva – Once the eggs hatch, the little ants are well-defined as larvae. The larval stage for ants creates little worm-like creatures, and it is at this time that the ants are constantly eating and rely on the adult workers to distribute the food to the rest of the colony;
- pupal – Most ant species do not fold themselves into cocoons like butterflies or moths. Some species have cocoon-like structures and their pupal stage looks a lot like adults, although their legs and antennae are folded against their bodies. Pupal ants do not do much during this time, but rest and grow in anticipation of the next stage;
- adult – these are the ants you see in your kitchen! The new queens eventually leave the territory and wander off with a few males to find a new spot they think is suitable for a new colony. Then they start the cycle all over again!
How long do ants live?
The most common question about ants is about their lifespan. This is a question that is still open to answer. We have to take into account the living conditions and ignore the ants that are treated by pest control professionals. And we also have to take into account that it also depends on the species of ant and whether or not the ant is a queen, soldier or worker.
Let’s say that, for worker ants and male soldiers, life is very short. Males tend to live about a week. Once they mate with a female, they die quite quickly, shortly after. Some soldiers can live for a few months.
The situation is different for queen ants . These ants can live for decades. If they are in a colony that is not disturbed or invaded by some other predatory insect, they can therefore last a long time, feeding more and more ants and more and more colonies.
Why are ants in the house?
With the above established, it should be clear that ants have many mouths to feed. Unlike termites, ants are known to rest for short periods of time, but not all at once. Thus, a colony is always viable, with other ants taking over the resting ones, searching for food. Thus, ants can enter your home through small cracks and gaps when they are searching for food. If they find a food source, the scouts will carry the food back to the nest and leave an invisible chemical trail behind them. The rest of the workers will then follow, invading the spaces.
This is why it is essential to act promptly, perhaps by seeking the advice of qualified personnel who can find the origins of the ant invasions, and then apply an effective control treatment. Sealing cracks and using baits that can eliminate an entire colony is essential for the control and prevention of these insects.
Not only that: as we have already mentioned above, there is not just one species of ants and, therefore, it becomes very important that control and prevention specialists recognize the one that is infesting your home.
Useful links: remedies and products: for example, when ants besiege the interior and exterior of your home and besiege ornamental plants and houseplants, you can solve the problem with a “ DNFT ” that you will have to spray directly on the plants. The price is 17.99 euros with free shipping and it is the bottle that will save your life and prevent you from a nervous breakdown.