Are Ants Insects? The Right Way to Treat an Ant Bite
Are ants insects?Ants are animals of the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Hymenoptera, suborder Apocrita. The main features of insects are a body divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen; a pair of antennae on the head; three pairs of appendages (legs) on the thorax; and most species also have two pairs of wings. From these features you can also tell that ants are insects!
Ants are a familiar kind of insect and are very easy to recognize. They can move objects hundreds of times heavier than themselves, and a colony generally has 4 castes: queen, female ants, male ants and worker ants. They are generally small, and their colors include black, yellow, red, white and so on. Their body wall is elastic and either smooth or slightly hairy. The mouthparts are of the chewing type, with well-developed mandibles. The antennae are geniculate (elbowed), with a very long scape and the last 2-3 segments enlarged. The whole antenna is divided into 4-13 segments. The abdomen is nodular. Some have wings, some do not. The spur on the foreleg is large and comb-like, forming a strigil (used for cleaning the antennae).
The living habits of ants
1. Colony: Ants are a typical social group, with the 3 major elements of sociality: individuals of the same species can cooperate to care for the young, there is a clear division of labor, at least two generations overlap within the colony, and the offspring can care for the previous generation for a period of time.
2. Lifespan: Ants live a long time. Worker ants can survive from a few weeks to 3-10 years, while the queen can live for more than ten years or several decades, or even more than 100 years. A nest can grow in one place for 1 to 10 years.
3. Diet: Ants are omnivorous insects, eating both meat and plants. They also eat the corpses of dead insects, and they like sweet food best.
4. Shelter: Ants generally build their nests underground, and the underground nests are very large in scale, with good drainage and ventilation. They like warm, damp soil best, and can barely survive in water for two weeks.
What to do if you are bitten by an ant
1. If it is only ordinary discomfort, first soak the wound in hot water for about 15 minutes, wipe the water off the wound, apply a little toothpaste, and cover it with an adhesive bandage.
2. The saliva of venomous ants is acidic, so you can apply soapy water or 3%-10% ammonia water or 5%-10% sodium bicarbonate solution externally.
3. For mild discomfort, applying a little floral water, essential balm or cooling oil will do.
4. For local redness, swelling and pain, a local injection of 2% procaine should be given, and antibiotics should be added systemically to prevent secondary infection. If the area turns black, take the person to the hospital promptly.
5. For those with obvious systemic symptoms, snake medicine can be taken.