I’m an Ant

Ants are truly amazing creatures and a wonder and joy to children all over the world.

Ants fascinate us in how they live among us.

If you ventured a guess as to how many species of ants there are in the world you would truly be surprised.

It’s not a hundred.

It’s not a thousand either.

It’s actually over 12, 000 species of ants ranging in all types of sizes from the smallest ant, the little black ant measuring as small as 1 mm and the largest ant, the giant Amazonian ant, measuring 2 inches or 50 times the size of the smallest ant at 0.50 mm.

Ants live in colonies according to species and each colony also varies in amounts of ants occupying them.

A typical ant colony can house a hundred thousand ants at one time.

The super colonies can accommodate millions of ants while the smallest colonies as few as hundred or less.

Ants and bees are very similar in that they’re both very social and live in communities supporting each other with designated roles and their mission is to protect the queen in their ecosystems so they can mate and continue the growth of their respective populations.

Ants roles in the colony are chosen based on their age and health.

The queen ant is the leader in the colony and her role is to reproduce.

The drone ant is the male who mates with the queen and dies off.

The worker ants are females and they are closest to the queen to protect her while constructing the nests and caring for the young in the colony.

The winged ants fly from the colony in search of new nesting.

The undertaker ants transport the dead outside of the colony to a final resting place.

Ants are nature’s engineers, architects and carpenters as they are able to create their own nesting to accommodate their living needs and can carry more than their body weight as they transport food, dirt, rocks to form their colonies.

Ants must always be aware of their surroundings so it’s important they stick with their colonies so they are protected in numbers.

Ants also take care of the sick in the colony to avoid disease and remove those who’ve died and transport them to their final resting place.

Ants are truly fascinating in so many ways and people who study them and their societies are called Myrmecologists.

Myrmecology is a branch of entomology specific to ants and their colonies.

There’s something to be said about ants and how they live and communicate among each other and work in a cooperative manner for the benefit of their community.

Next time you are walking and see an ant crawling on the sidewalk please respect them as they are living creatures and they need to get back to their colony to feed their young.

Children will love the amazing qualities ants possess and can learn more about them by reading books showcasing their story and observing them in their environment.

Ant farms are wonderful ways for observing ants and their unique traits and abilities.

We can all learn from the ant, one of nature’s tiniest creatures and a true miracle worker.

I should know because I’m an ant.