Benefit of Ants and Classification of Black Ants
Ants are insects with the number of species and individuals are huge. The number of ants in the earth's surface consists of more than 12,000 species, but only about 7600 species from 250 genera that have been named and described. The largest variety of ants is in the tropics. Ants are widespread all over the places except in the ocean, starting from the Arctic in the north to the south polar area (Daly et al., 1978).
1. Ant nests on the ground makes the air able to get into the soil
2. Some types of ants eat bugs
3. plant-eating ants help the environment by eating plants that interfere
4. Ants fertilize soil when processing food
5. Ants can serve as decomposers
6. Ants help spread seeds
Dolichoderus thoracic Smith black ants are ant species that are widespread in Southeast Asia, especially in areas with an altitude of less than 1,300 meters above sea level. Black ants are often found in citrus, cocoa, coffee, and mango (Kalshoven, 1981). Black ant nest is usually located above ground (dry leaf litter piles) and coconut leaf midrib (if cocoa is planted with coconut) or in dry and dark places, and not far from the source of food. (Way and Khoo, 1992)
D. thoracic black ants usually come out of the nest in the morning and evening when the temperature is not too hot. Ants will lead plant shoots to get sunlight while carrying out their activities. But on the day when the air temperature is hot, the ants will hide in places that are protected from the sun directly, such as in the nest, behind the foliage, on the ground, and others (Elzinga, 1978 in Rahmawadi, 1997)
D. thoracic black ants are included in Hymenoptera Ordo (clear-winged insects) and in Formicidae Familia. According to Kalshoven (1981), D. thoracic black ant classification is as follows:
Phylum: Arthropods
Class: Hexapoda
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Sub-family: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Dolichoderus
Species: Dolichoderus thoracic Smith
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