An ants digestive system consists of a mouth opening, a pharynx, infra-buccal chamber, oesophagus, crop, gizzard, stomach, intestine, rectum and anus.
The pharynx is situated in the head and is a flattened cavity with very muscular walls which open and shut, forcing the liquid
food into the oesophagus.
The infra-buccal chamber is a spherical cavity situated below the pharynx, and forms a receptacle for the solid and semi-solid parts of the food rasped off by the ant's tongue, and also for matter scraped off the ant's body by its tongue and strigils.
The oesophagus is a long tube connecting the pharynx with the abdomen.
The crop is situated in the gaster, consisting simply of an enlargement of the oesophagus. It forms a reservoir for the retention of the liquid food, and is capable of great distension, particularly in the case of ants of the genus Myrmecocystus, the so-called Honeypot ant. The crop is also known as the social stomach, as the food it contains is used to feed the brood, and the other ants of the colony, by regurgitation.
The gizzard connects the crop with the stomach. It is very variable in form and can be used to differentiate genera and even sub-families. It is composed anteriorly of a cupshaped portion, the calyx, the chitinous walls of which are formed
by eight bands, the four thicker ones, the sepals. These contract at their posterior end to form a valve. The gizzard then becomes dilated into a bulb, the stomach proper; this is followed by a cylindrical portion which enters the true stomach, where it terminates in a knob-shaped valve. The walls of the gizzard, and especially the bulb, are provided with very powerful muscles.
The stomach proper is a sac in which the food it receives is digested, it is not capable of much distension, and does not possess any chitinous lining.
The intestine is a more or less wrinkled tube which connects the stomach with the rectum, and near its anterior end where it forms a valve, the Malpighian tubes or urinary vessels are inserted. The rectum is large, tapering towards its posterior end where it terminates in the anus. In it the faeces and urinary excretions are collected. The anus varies in shape in different genera, it is provided with a sphincter muscle, and is sometimes fringed with hairs.
Tags: Morphology & Physiology
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