{"id":12563,"date":"2022-12-23T12:38:56","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T17:38:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/?p=12563"},"modified":"2022-12-23T12:38:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T17:38:58","slug":"do-ants-have-brains-and-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/do-ants-have-brains-and-hearts\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Ants Have Brains And Hearts?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ants are a common sight throughout the world. You may have observed a group of ants working together to steal a cookie crumb or fight off other insects, and perhaps this led you to wonder about their intelligence. How smart are ants? Do they have brains and hearts? What about other internal organs? What is their anatomy like? Keep reading! In this article, we\u2019ll explore the answers to these questions and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Ants Have Brains?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Do<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ants are thought to be<\/a> some of the smartest insects on the planet. Surely, their level of intelligence comes from having brains, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, ants do have brains. And while they do possess some level of intelligence, they are far from being the smartest organisms out there.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ants are extremely small, so the size of their brains is also quite small. The largest ant brains contain about 250,000 neurons, or nerve cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This may seem like a large number, but humans have about 86 billion neurons<\/a>. So, our brains are about 344 million times larger than the brains of ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, though, part of this small brain size has to do with the fact that ants themselves are small. Despite their small brains, they still show a higher level of intelligence than many other types of invertebrates.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, ants have demonstrated an ability to remember things and to learn from past experience. They also know how to communicate with each other, work together to find food, collect and store food for future use, and fight off potential predators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, even though their brains may not compare with humans or other large mammals, they are still quite smart for creatures of their small size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Ants Have Hearts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ants don\u2019t exactly have hearts, but they do have a heart-like organ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This organ is known as the dorsal vessel. It is a long, tube-like structure that extends from the ant\u2019s head, through its thorax, and down through the end of its abdomen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dorsal vessel is divided into different chambers, and one-way valves between the chambers prevent the backflow of bodily fluids, forcing them to move in only one direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muscles around the dorsal vessel contract to force the ant\u2019s bodily fluids (known as hemolymph) through its tiny body.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ant\u2019s dorsal vessel can contract anywhere between 30 and 200 times per minute, depending on the weather and the ant\u2019s level of activity. The pumping rate slows considerably during the cold winter months, but it can become very fast during periods of exertion when the weather is warm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this video to learn more about an ant\u2019s heart and circulatory system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=utOfEWpSQgQ<\/a>