Why are ants useful?

Few people like insects. People perceive them as pests and try to get rid of them. If you find out what benefits ants bring to the forest and people, it becomes clear that these arthropods have many important functions. They loosen the soil, clean the forest and destroy the tracks.

Benefits in nature

Not just like that ant called the orderly of the forest. It accelerates the decomposition of rotten wood, collects dry leaves and branches, cleans plants of caterpillars, ticks, sawflies. The insect can be harmful, but it still performs many useful functions.

Soil formation benefits

Arthropods loosen the earth better than worms. They dig passages at a depth of 70 cm, while the worms do not penetrate into the soil below 20 cm. The soil is mixed and enriched with the following substances:

• humus;
• nitrogen;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• magnesium.

Thanks to this, the growth and development of plants improves. You may notice that around anthills the vegetation is thicker and healthier.

On a note!

Few people know what ants are for in the forest and in the fields. But their benefits are invaluable here - they are the loosening of the earth, filling it with air and nutrients.

Around the anthills accumulates a lot of excrement, which serve as fertilizer for the vegetation.

The benefits of cleansing the forest

Rotten stumps become a refuge for ants. They build a nest there and accelerate the decomposition of the dead tree. Forest ants, during the construction of their house, collect leaves, branches, blades of grass and needles from the surrounding area.

Interesting!

In the anthill, the decomposition of grassy and wood particles occurs faster than in air. This is due to the fact that there is a higher temperature and humidity, as well as a unique microflora with its bacteria and fungi.

Benefits for plants

The benefits of ants in nature are enormous. They spread seeds through the forest. About 3000 plant species are distributed by hardworking insects. Including:

• fragrant violet;
• celandine;
• goose onions;
• Corydalis;
• thyme;
• scalp hairy.

All these herbs and flowers cannot grow without ants, which carry their seeds into the house, losing part along the way.

The following plants are carried exclusively by ants:

• violet;
• hoof;
• woodland and other myrmecochore plants.

Some species of ants They love to eat sweet pollen and thus can contribute to the pollination of flowers.

Pest Control Benefits

Arthropods clear the forest of dead insects and pests. It is known that moths and sawflies destroy plants and thereby cause great harm to the forest. But where there is an anthill, the number of these pests is small.

On a note!

If there are few ants in the forest, then foresters specially populate these beneficial insects. One anthill per day is able to clean the surrounding area from 2000 larvae and pupae of various pests.

The link in the food chain

Here, too, there is not anyhow what is the use of ants. Songbirds and some animals hunt for insects:

• badgers;
• foxes
• hazel grouse;
• the Bears.

Birds love to bathe feathers in ants. In this way they get rid of pests. Some scientists are sure that birds are also treated by ants, crushing them under the wings. After all, formic acid benefits the body.

Use in the garden

Gardeners often wonder why ants are needed on the site, because insects breed aphids and increase the acidity of the soil. This negatively affects the plants and slows down their development. But at the same time, the benefits of black garden ants in the garden there are:

1. In underground passages made by workers, air humidity reaches 90%. Also, the soil in these places is supplied with oxygen and contains saprophytes. In these conditions, even finicky plants feel good.
2. Garden species of ants destroys slugs, caterpillars, pupae and larvae. In one day, the anthill is able to collect two thousand different pests.
3. Thanks to insects, the soil is enriched with useful trace elements. The potassium content is doubled, and phosphorus - 10 times.

Before starting extermination of anthill, it is worth considering whether insects are so harmful.

The benefits to humans

Since ancient times, people have used ants as a medicine. Insects contain a lot of protein, trace elements and vitamins, and formic acid can help in the treatment of the following diseases:

• rheumatoid arthritis;
• neurosis;
• atrophic arthritis;
• dizziness;
• insomnia;
• hepatitis.

Various ointments with hemostatic effect are prepared from these arthropods. And their poison helps fight staphylococcal and streptococcal infections. For centuries, industrious insects have been used as biological weapons against pests for centuries. In China, weaver ants help grow citrus trees.

Interesting!

There are places on earth where large ants interlock the edges of the wounds after surgery. The jaws of the insect connect the edges of the skin, and its body is torn off.

The role of ants in South Africa is great, where insects collect rooibos seeds, which are used to make herbal tea and put them in their nests. All that remains for a man is to “take” the crop from the workers. For a day, from one nest it is possible to get 150-200 g of seeds.

Before the destruction of arthropod workaholics, it is worth remembering how useful ants are. Often the benefits of them are much more harmful. No one else improves the composition of the soil and does not fight pests.