Black ant

Black ant

[source]

It belongs to the family Formicidae.

[animal form] black ant

The length of worker ant is about 1 s mm. The body paint is black, smooth and glossy. Head round triangle, compound eye 1 pair, ellipse; monocular 3, character arrangement. Antennae 1 pair, geniculate, a total of 12, the longest peduncle. Developed mouthparts; chewy. The anterior thoracolumbar plate is well developed and the middle thoracolumbar plate is small. Wingless. There are 3 pairs of feet with equal development. The joint of the chest and abdomen is reduced to a petiole shape, with one upward scale; the abdomen has 5 segments. The upper jaw, antennae and feet are brown; the head, chest, feet and the posterior margin of each abdominal segment have brown bristles, the posterior margin of the abdominal segment has dense bristles, and the rest are sparse. Soldiers are similar to workers. The female is large in shape. The male ant is slightly smaller than the female ant, and has wings. Its antennae are slender and not geniculate. The larva has small head and chest, wide abdomen, yellowish white body and no feet; the pupa is white.

They live in groups and often nest underground. It is distributed in most parts of the country.

[chemical composition] there are many kinds of aliphatic hydrocarbons in the stomach. The venom sac of ant genus contains venom, among which formic acid (formic acid), ammonia and 17 kinds of free amino acids are the most attractive component.

The volatiles of female and worker ants of Formica sanguinea are n-decanol, n-undecanol, n-dodecanol and their acetate, and the isomers of farnesene. In addition, F. rufa and other red ants contain isoxanthopterin, riboflavin, 2-amino-6-hydroxy-pteridine and biopterin.

[pharmacological action] concentrated formic acid is corrosive. If it is damaged, it can be diluted with water locally, or alleviated with egg white, milk, and weak alkaline substances such as soap and magnesium salt. Diluted formic acid (5-10%) can be used as stimulant or astringent to reduce foot perspiration.

It is salty, flat and poisonous.

[function indications] it is used to treat snake bite and swelling and pain caused by poison.

[formula selection] ① treatment of snake bite: black ant chunrongtu.

② Treatment of toxic swelling and pain: black ants, insects, a total of Chun Rong Tu. (nature and taste are listed in Sichuan Traditional Chinese medicine annals)

Chinese PinYin : Hei Ma Yi