Anatomy of an Ant
Marilyn Wells
An interesting fact about an ant’s anatomy is that the insect has two stomachs in its back section. One of the stomachs is called a crop, and the other is called a gaster. The crop supplies food for the community, while the gaster is the ant’s personal stomach.
The community stomach works this way. The food the ant eats dissolves into a liquid that is stored in the crop. When a fellow ant from the community is hungry, it can stroke the food-gathering ant’s head with its antennae. Then, each ant opens its mouth so that the liquid food can pass from the sharing ant to the hungry ant.
The ant’s second stomach, the gaster, is smaller than the crop. The gaster has two important jobs to do. First, it’s the ant’s personal stomach. When the ant is hungry, the gaster receives food from the crop. It digests the food for its own nourishment. In addition to digesting food for the ant, the gaster contains poison glands. Some ants have stingers at the end of the gaster that eject the poison into enemies. Ants without stingers can still squirt the poison through a tiny opening at the rear of the gaster.
An ant’s two stomachs, the crop and the gaster, help in the survival of the individual ant and its entire community.
Question
Acidopore
From Wikipedia
The acidopore is a component of ant anatomy; a round orifice located on the abdomen encircled by hairs which typifies the subfamily Formicine. The conical structure connects to the posterior end of an ant’s gaster where formic acid and other hydrocarbons formed, collectively comprising the venom. This structure is unique to, but not present in all members of the ant subfamily Formicine. It is termed an acidopore because it is the pore, or hole, from which formic acid is sprayed.
How is the purpose of both articles similar?
A. Both articles explain the eyesight of ants.
B. Both articles explain the antennae of ants.
C. Both articles explain the reproductive system of ants.
D. Both articles explain the abdominal area of ants.