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Insects and Spiders · entry 32 of 52
Ants have two stomachs, one for their own food and one for sharing.
The longer version
Two stomachs solve a sharing problem. The first receives whatever the ant eats and digests it normally, while the second acts as a storage pouch holding liquid that can be passed mouth to mouth to nestmates, larvae, and the queen.
Regurgitating droplets turns each forager into a delivery service, spreading food without everyone leaving the nest. The same fluid carries traces of recent meals, circulating information about available sources. Because the pouch sits ahead of the true digestive region, contents can be given away before being absorbed, and stores kept there help see the colony through lean periods.
Where this entry sits
This collection gathers small wonders from the world of ants, bees, butterflies, beetles, and spiders. Expect surprising details about swarms, silk, and metamorphosis, plus the strange everyday abilities of creatures small enough to fit on a fingertip. The full list sits on the Insects and Spiders page, where every entry is listed in order.
More From Insects and Spiders
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Read 34A housefly tastes food with its feet before deciding whether to eat it.
Read 35Dung beetles roll balls of dung across the ground to bury them.
Read 36Worker bees cluster together and shiver to keep the hive warm in winter.
Read 37Water striders walk on ponds by spreading their weight across the surface.
Read 38A tick is not an insect but a close relative of spiders and mites.
Read 39Silverfish are small wingless insects that prefer damp and dark corners indoors.
Read 40The chirping of a cricket speeds up as the surrounding air gets warmer.
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