Ants do not possess a single, muscular organ analogous to a human tongue. Instead, they use a complex set of specialized mouthparts that collectively perform functions like tasting, manipulating food, and ingesting liquids. This intricate anatomy allows ants to efficiently process food and engage in vital social behaviors.
Ant Mouthparts for Feeding
Ants utilize several specialized mouthparts for food intake. The primary structures involved include the labium, maxillae, and the hypopharynx. The labium, often referred to as the lower lip, contains a distal, tongue-like structure called the glossa, which is crucial for lapping liquids. The maxillae, located behind the mandibles, are a pair of jaw-like structures that help hold food steady and pass it towards the mouth. Sensory hairs on the maxillae and labium aid in tasting and manipulating food.
Between the maxillae and the labium lies the hypopharynx, which also functions in moving food towards the mouth. While mandibles, the prominent jaws, are used for initial food manipulation like cutting, gripping, and crushing, the labium and maxillae are more directly involved in liquid uptake and fine food processing. The entire complex of the maxillae and labium is often referred to as the maxillolabial complex, functioning as a composite “tongue” for ants.
How Ants Consume Food and Liquid
Ants employ sophisticated mechanisms to ingest both liquid and solid food. They lap up liquids using the glossa. The surface of the glossa is covered with tiny, hair-like structures called microtrichia, which aid in liquid adhesion and uptake. Liquid then moves into the preoral cavity, the space enclosed by the mouthparts, before being drawn into the digestive tract by a cephalic sucking pump, a muscular pharynx located in the ant’s head. This pump creates suction by expanding its volume, allowing efficient ingestion of fluids.
Solid food processing begins with the mandibles, which break down items into smaller pieces. These smaller particles are then further manipulated by the maxillae and labium and mixed with salivary secretions. Indigestible solid particles are filtered out by a structure called the infrabuccal pocket, preventing them from entering the narrow digestive tract. The filtered particles are compacted into a pellet and periodically ejected from the mouth.
Other Functions of Ant Mouthparts
Beyond direct feeding, ant mouthparts serve a variety of other functions essential for colony life. Trophallaxis, the social sharing of liquid food, is a common behavior among ants, where liquid from one ant’s crop is regurgitated and transferred mouth-to-mouth to nestmates. The labium plays a role in stimulating the regurgitation reflex during this process, distributing nutrients throughout the colony, including to the queen and larvae.
Ants also use their mouthparts extensively for grooming, maintaining hygiene for themselves and their colony members. They self-groom, cleaning their antennae and legs, and engage in allogrooming, cleaning other ants, which helps remove dirt, debris, and pathogens from their bodies. The mandibles, while primarily for cutting and manipulating food, are also versatile tools for carrying objects, such as soil, pebbles, and even their young (larvae and pupae) within the nest, demonstrating their broad utility.