佳作獎 佳作獎
我們是蟻家人
Ant Family
作者 | 林汝貞
#昆蟲與蜘蛛
科學圖說 Introduction
多樣寡家蟻/多樣擬大頭家蟻,體型相差懸殊,不免懷疑來自不同家族,事實上牠們是一家人。多樣擬大頭家蟻為單蟻后型,成熟蟻巢多由1隻具生殖能力的蟻后、數百隻的兵蟻及數千隻的工蟻組成。普遍分布於臺灣的平地至低海拔山區,南部地區較多見,喜歡棲息在日照充足的地面或草叢,常見成群的工蟻和兵蟻一起出現,有些工蟻還會爬到兵蟻背上。特化級兵蟻在蟻群中的地位相對較高,扮演著幫忙狩獵及分裂食物的角色。頭部異常寬大,有發達的大顎、不成比例的身體,體長約13~15mm,頭背上有一條明顯的縱向溝紋,後緣截平,後胸末端有一對棘刺;咬合力強大,一旦被咬會造成皮膚裂傷,但不具蟻酸的毒性。工蟻以搬運、守衛為任務,抵禦蟻巢外來的敵人;工蟻的數量遠遠多於兵蟻,蟻巢內外的大小事都需要牠們的分工,是群落中重要的角色。
Due to the disparity in their appearance, I first thought that the ants in this set of images were of different species. However, they are all of the same species, Carebara diversa. Their colonies consist of one reproductive queen, hundreds of soldier ants, and thousands of worker ants, while their distribution is generally from the flatlands to low-lying mountains in Taiwan, especially in the south. They prefer open areas or grassland with sufficient sunshine. It is common to see swarms of worker ants alongside soldier ants, with some worker ants riding on the backs of soldier ants. Specialized soldier ants have a relatively high status in the colony, helping to hunt and divide up food. They have extraordinarily large heads, well-developed mandibles, and disproportionate bodies, reaching 13-15mm in length. There is an obvious groove on the back of the head with truncated edge and spines at the posterior end of the metathorax. Their powerful bite can cause severe skin laceration but without formic acid toxicity. Worker ants carry and lift things and guard the colony. There are far more worker ants than soldier ants, as they are involved in all aspects of the operation of the colony.

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