Inside of An Ant
The digestive system - this part of an ant is used for digesting an ants food.When food is eaten,it passes on to the food pouch.This is where the juices are sqeezed out of the food.The ant swallows the juice and spits out the solid part.The liquid goes to the crop,or social stomach.An ant will regurgitate (spit out) from its crop to feed other ants.Some food goes to the midgut,where its digested.The undigested food passes out of the rectum.
The nervous system - the nervous system contains the ants main brain and other,smaller brains called ganglia.The main brain controls the ants sight, touch,movement,and smell.The ganglia are bundles of nerve cells.They dont do much but help the brain control some of the ants actions.The ganglia help the ant sting and run around even when they have their head cut off.
The heart - the ants heart is a long tube.It pumps a whiteish blood from the abdomen to the brain.The blood spills out over the brain and oozes through the body to the abdomen.It then reenters the heart.As the blood flows, it nourishes the cells in the antennae,leg muscles,and other organs.
The lungs - ants dont have lungs.They have spiracles.Air passes in and out of the spiracles.The spiracles are located on the ants thorax.The spiracles connect to tubes called trachea.Oxegen enters the trachea,dissolves into the blood and mixes with a white pigment,giving ants white blood.
The poison gland-an ants poison gland holds a chemical that smells like vinegar.That chemical is called formic acid.Formic acid is used by the ants to kill their prey and to ward off attackers.The ants first bite their enemy then spray it with formic acid.
Outside of An Ant:
Compound eyes-ants have up to 6-1000 lenses in their eyes.with these lenses, they are able to detect motion without turning their head.
ocelli-only some ants have ocelli.The ocelli are three light-sensitive
eyespots.Some ants have no eyes at all!
