So, what are the factors that can affect the efficiency of solar energy utilization by pavement ants and big-headed ants?
The protagonist couldn't help but compare the basic situations of these two ants in his mind.
The race of the Big-headed Ant Kingdom is Big-headed Ants, or to be precise, Broad-knotted Big-headed Ants.
The broad-knotted big-headed ant belongs to the family Formicidae of the order Hymenoptera. The body length of soldier ants is about 5.2~5.9mm, that of worker ants is about 3.0~3.5mm, and that of female ants is about 7.0~10.0mm. The head and back of the body are brown, and the rest of the body is reddish brown. It likes to live in woodlands and farmland in plain areas.
The race of pavement ant barbarians is grass pavement ants.
Lawn pavement ants also belong to the family Hymenoptera. There are no specific soldier ants. The body length of worker ants is 2.6-3.9mm, and the body length of female ants is about 8.0mm. Body color is usually yellowish brown to dark brown. This ant is commonly found in habitats such as streets, grasslands, and fields.
What are the similarities and differences between the two?
The protagonist analyzed it and found that the difference in physiological structure between the two was mainly reflected in their body shape and color.
In terms of body size, the broad-knotted big-headed ant is obviously larger than the lawn pavement ant. Strictly speaking, both soldier ants and worker ants are worker ants. To compare worker ants, the body length of Big-headed ant workers is about 3.0-5.9mm, while that of Pavement ant workers is 2.6-3.9mm. There is a huge difference between the two. Up to more than double.
If we compare the queen ants, the queen of big-headed ants is about 7.0-10.0mm in length, and the queen of pavement ants is about 8.0mm, which is also smaller. The same goes for male ants.
So does body size have an impact on the absorption of solar energy by both?
The protagonist does know that the farther you go in the colder zones, the same kind of animals are often larger than their counterparts in the temperate tropics. For example, polar bears are larger than sun bears, and arctic foxes are larger than desert foxes. But this is only true for warm-blooded animals.
Because warm-blooded animals are larger, their heat dissipation rate is lower and it is easier to maintain body temperature. In addition, the food of warm-blooded animals in cold zones is cyclical, and for a long time every year they must rely entirely on their own reserves to maintain life. In addition, the large body size is mainly due to a lot of fat, and the fat layer helps to keep out the cold. For example, the thick subcutaneous fat of polar bears can keep the internal organs warm.
However, the opposite is true for non-warm-blooded animals such as insects. Insects generally become larger as they go to tropical areas. Because the smaller the body, the more sunlight is needed to provide energy for the body. In the cold zone, the smaller the insect, the easier it is to "thaw". In the tropics, the temperature is sufficient 24 hours a day, so insects with larger body can develop.
So, is it because pavement ants are smaller than big-headed ants that they are more adapted to cold climates? The protagonist feels that this guess has some truth, but it should not be decisive, because the size difference between the two ants is really not big, that is, it is on the millimeter level, and it will not cause such a huge gap in their climate adaptability.
Then the only thing that can be used for comparison is body color.
The body color of the broad-knotted big-headed ant is reddish-brown to tan, and to human vision, the overall color is darker yellow. The body color of lawn pavement ants is yellowish brown to dark brown, but to human vision, it is generally earthy black. Relatively speaking, lawn pavement ants are darker than broad-knotted big-headed ants.
Under the same conditions, the same substance, if the color is different, will have different conditions in terms of temperature and heat release when it is exposed to thermal radiation. Black substances have a strong ability to absorb thermal radiation, so the temperature rises quickly. Light-colored substances have a weak ability to absorb thermal radiation, so the temperature rises slowly. In addition, when dark-colored substances are heated, the molecules expand and the gaps between the molecules are opened. After the heating stops, the distance between the molecules will gradually recover and the heat is released. However, light-colored substances absorb less heat and the distance between the molecules is small. The heat released is naturally less than that of dark substances under the same conditions.
Therefore, ships trapped by ice floes in the icy ocean can use coal ash to escape, while polar bears that look white have a layer of dark skin under their protective white fur to use solar energy.
From this point of view, the darker pavement ants are obviously more advantageous than the big-headed ants in using sunlight? The protagonist feels that he has found the reason, and future experiments can be improved based on this factor.
In fact, the protagonist does not understand that in addition to their appearance, the two types of ants have a decisive difference in physiological structure - there is an "antifreeze protein" in the body of pavement ants.
This special protein is widely found in marine fish living in polar oceans. This protein interacts with water or ice to lower the temperature at which water freezes, thereby keeping biological fluids in a non-frozen state. Researchers have discovered a series of such proteins, which they collectively call "antifreeze proteins." With this "antifreeze protein", polar fish can survive in water of several degrees below zero.
Similarly, with this protein, pavement ants can still ensure that they do not freeze in winter when the temperature is only a few degrees below zero.
Therefore, in the temporary departure base of the pavement ant barbarian army, although the base was dug very shallow and there was no heating facility, the pavement ants who spent the night in it were only slightly frozen and could still move around as usual the next day. As soon as the sun recharges the energy, it becomes full of energy.
And if big-headed ants are allowed to spend the night in such a place, they will definitely suffer heavy losses overnight.
Now, due to the lack of information, the protagonist determines that the difference in body color between the big-headed ants and the pavement ants leads to different absorption efficiency of sunlight.
Therefore, the next day, the protagonist began to make up for the shortcomings of the big-headed ants in body color.
Today, ten new experimental subjects were selected, still five worker ants and five soldier ants. Yesterday's experimental subjects can replenish the physical strength lost yesterday in the nest today.
These experimental subjects did not go out directly. Instead, the protagonist came to the place to bask in the sun early in the morning and covered the flat land on the bark with black soil collected from the ground.
Since it was all done by the protagonist alone, it took the protagonist several hours to cover this small area of a few square centimeters with a thin layer of soil particles.
Afterwards, the experimental subject went out and came to the experimental area.
The protagonist still asks them to move every half hour to see the results of absorbing solar energy.
Today's experiment was a little better than yesterday. After about an hour and a half, the experimental subjects were already moving more neatly, half an hour faster than yesterday.
However, this kind of neatness is only relative. The big-headed ants today and yesterday still cannot move as freely as the pavement ants.
And today, like yesterday, the most suitable time for big-headed ants to be active is before three o'clock in the afternoon. As the height of the sun decreases, the big-headed ants become more and more sluggish. In order to prevent the freezing situation like yesterday, the protagonist had to take everyone back early.
