{"id":3009,"date":"2022-10-12T20:51:16","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T12:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/?p=3009"},"modified":"2023-09-19T20:12:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:12:21","slug":"do-ants-pee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Ants Pee?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>No, ants don\u2019t pee. While their bodies may produce urine, they don\u2019t end up urinating as most of the water is absorbed back to the body by their excretory system. In the end, they produce solid pellets of waste which they instead excrete by pooping.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article we\u2019ll learn more about why ants don\u2019t pee and what they do instead. Before that however, let\u2019s briefly define what peeing is exactly.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-pee.jpg\" alt=\"do ants pee\" class=\"wp-image-3012\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-pee.jpg 600w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/do-ants-pee-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/balouriarajesh-6205857\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7392382\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rajesh Balouria<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=7392382\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_64 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#What_Is_Peeing_Or_Urination\" title=\"What Is Peeing Or Urination?\">What Is Peeing Or Urination?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Why_Dont_Ants_Pee\" title=\"Why Don\u2019t Ants Pee?\">Why Don\u2019t Ants Pee?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#What_Happens_To_The_Urine\" title=\"What Happens To The Urine?\">What Happens To The Urine?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Ants_Dont_Pee_They_Poop\" title=\"Ants Don\u2019t Pee, They Poop\">Ants Don\u2019t Pee, They Poop<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Excreting_Nitrogenous_Waste\" title=\"Excreting Nitrogenous Waste\">Excreting Nitrogenous Waste<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Related_Questions\" title=\"Related Questions\">Related Questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Are_Ants_Attracted_To_Urine\" title=\"Are Ants Attracted To Urine?\">Are Ants Attracted To Urine?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Do_Ants_Fart\" title=\"Do Ants Fart?\">Do Ants Fart?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-pee\/#Summary_Do_Ants_Pee\" title=\"Summary: Do Ants Pee?\">Summary: Do Ants Pee?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_Peeing_Or_Urination\"><\/span>What Is Peeing Or Urination?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Peeing or in more technical terms, urination, is the process of expelling urine, a liquid or semisolid solution of metabolic waste and other substances, from the body. In humans and many animals, urination is done through a urinary system that consists of the kidneys, ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This system handles everything including the filtration of waste materials and production of pre-urine, the absorption of solutes and water back to the bloodstream, and of course, the eventual excretion of urine from the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Dont_Ants_Pee\"><\/span>Why Don\u2019t Ants Pee?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants don\u2019t pee because they don\u2019t have a urinary system. They don\u2019t have true kidneys and instead have an excretory system made up of Malpighian tubules which extend throughout their digestive tract.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This tubule system can be quite similar to the urinary system in that it facilitates the filtration of waste and the reabsorption of water back to the bloodstream. In fact, at some point in the process, the ant excretory system even produces urine. This urine however, does not get excreted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike the urinary system which produces and expels a liquid or semisolid solution, the ant excretory system produces and expels solid waste pellets instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Happens_To_The_Urine\"><\/span>What Happens To The Urine?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If ants produce pre-urine, why don\u2019t they urinate? Well, it\u2019s because their excretory system does a good job of reabsorbing water.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the Malpighian tubules filter water and waste out of the hemolymph to produce pre-urine, the same pre-urine is then passed to the hindgut where it merges with undigested food. While there, special cells reabsorb around 90% of the water, leaving the rest of the waste material to form the solid waste pellets that ants eventually expel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to this reabsorption, the <a href=\"https:\/\/genent.cals.ncsu.edu\/bug-bytes\/digestive-system\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/genent.cals.ncsu.edu\/bug-bytes\/digestive-system\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ant excretory system<\/a> allows ants to remove waste from their bodies while preventing water loss which may otherwise lead them to dry up or desiccate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ants_Dont_Pee_They_Poop\"><\/span>Ants Don\u2019t Pee, They Poop<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-poop-2-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3004\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-poop-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-poop-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-poop-2-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/do-ants-poop-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/b_zocholl-19721026\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=6067741\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Benjamin Zocholl<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=6067741\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since ants excrete solid waste, they therefore <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-poop\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2999\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poop instead of pee<\/a>. They are very much like birds in that their urine mixes in with other waste to produce the aforementioned solid pellets which they eventually expel through the anus as poop or in more technical terms, frass.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This frass typically looks like tiny brown or black pellets and may appear as stains or patches on a surface. They\u2019ve also been described to look like a build-up of old coffee grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Excreting_Nitrogenous_Waste\"><\/span>Excreting Nitrogenous Waste<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A major function of urination is to <a href=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/biology\/chapter\/22-4-nitrogenous-wastes\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/biology\/chapter\/22-4-nitrogenous-wastes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">remove nitrogenous waste from the body<\/a>. This nitrogenous waste tends to form toxic ammonia which in many animals needs to be detoxified and converted to another form for excretion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In humans and many other vertebrates for example, ammonia is converted into the relatively less toxic, water-soluble organic compound urea and is excreted through urine. On the other hand, ants and some other insects convert ammonia into uric acid, a non-toxic solid which does not require dilution to be expelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As such, this uric acid can be simply removed from the ant body along with undigested food and other waste through pooping.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_Questions\"><\/span>Related Questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-attracted-to-urine-3-1-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2022\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-attracted-to-urine-3-1-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-attracted-to-urine-3-1-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-attracted-to-urine-3-1-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/are-ants-attracted-to-urine-3-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/frolicsomepl-54573\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1006795\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ewa Urban<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=1006795\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Are_Ants_Attracted_To_Urine\"><\/span>Are Ants Attracted To Urine?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-ants-attracted-to-urine\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2015\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ants can be attracted to urine<\/a> because it contains a number substances that they need to survive. Urine, for example, contains water, glucose, sodium, urea, and proteins, all of which are used in important processes in the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, some ant species like the <em>Camponotus compressus<\/em> rely on urine as an energy source and for survival. These ground nesting ants are known to frequent toilets and urinals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Do_Ants_Fart\"><\/span>Do Ants Fart?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Although there are limited studies on whether <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/do-ants-fart\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2940\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ants fart<\/a>, it is highly likely that they do. Ants satisfy the requirements such as specific body parts and the presence of microbes in the gut necessary to produce a fart. Also, evidence of farting in ants has been shown through preserved gas bubbles around the anuses of ants that have been trapped in amber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_Do_Ants_Pee\"><\/span>Summary: Do Ants Pee?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To summarize, no ants do not pee. While their bodies may produce pre-urine, their excretory system reabsorbs most of the water from the pre-urine back into the hemolymph to produce solid waste pellets. These pellets are then excreted as poop instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No, ants don\u2019t pee. While their bodies may produce urine, they don\u2019t end up urinating as most of the water is absorbed back to the body by their excretory system. In the end, they produce solid pellets of waste which they instead excrete by pooping. In this article we\u2019ll learn more about why ants don\u2019t&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3009"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3710,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3009\/revisions\/3710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}