Phylum, Arthropoda;
Class, Insecta;
Order, Hymenoptera
When ant colonies reproduce, the new queens and males may be
found in the colony. These are "flying ants" and have two pairs of wings. Males
generally have small heads, large eyes, large thoraces, and a pair of claspers
at the end of the gaster. Once they fly (and mate), males do not live very long.
After mating, new queens break off their wings and never fly again. Without
wings, they can generally be distinguished from workers by their larger body
size, larger thorax and larger abdomen. All workers are females.
Ant larvae are white and grub like. They have no legs and do not move about
much on their own. You can generally see a large, dark stomach through their
cuticle. Ant pupae look like white adult ants, with their legs and antennae
pressed close to their bodies. In some species, larvae spin silk and the pupal
stage is inside a cocoon. Newly emerged adult ants are often paler than older
ones. It may take them several days to reach their final color.
Most ants that are easy to keep in the classroom are generalists, eating a
variety of small insects that they capture, dead insects they happen to find,
nectar, or honey dew. They need a balance of carbohydrates and protein. Protein
is needed especially for the queen to make eggs and for the larvae to grow.
Most ant species live in the soil. Some, like the carpenter ants, also live
in wood (they excavate, but do not actually eat the wood). Some ants live in
cavities made inside plants, such as acorns, twigs, and galls.
A variety of reptiles or amphibians (particularly toads and lizards), spiders,
other insects such as assassin bugs, and other ants may prey on workers. Bats,
birds, and occasionally, people capture and kill or eat the flying males and
females.
Since ants are social, they display many behaviors that remind us of our families
and society. For example, worker ants take care of larvae by feeding and washing
them. Ants are able to communicate with each other. They are able to communicate,
among other things, directions (to where the food is) and alarm.
World wide, ants are one of the most important predators on small invertebrates,
including other insects. Leafcutting ants in the American tropics are the most
important herbivores (plant consumers), outranking grazing mammals. In many
ecosystems, ants are important dispersers of the seeds that they harvest. In
desert regions, they are one of the principle consumers of seeds. Wherever ants
live, they turn over and aerate the soil as much or more than earthworms (depending
on the specific ecosystem). (For more information, see Holldobler and Wilson's
book).
A few ant species are considered pests, because they live in and protect territory
that we consider ours or because they want to consume resources that we need.
For example, leafcutting ants (see "Positive" section above) compete with us
for crop plants in the American tropics. Fire ants colonize damp grasslands
(including lawns!) with alarming ease. Carpenter ants, adapted for living in
dead wood, consider the dead wood (lumber) in houses fair game, especially if
it is damp. A number of opportunistic ant species can overrun kitchens, pantries,
and pet food areas in search of suitable food items. Also, some ants (like their
relatives the wasps and bees) have a potent sting. As with bees, some people
can become hypersensitive to ant stings.
Ants are found under logs, particularly rotting logs that pull apart easily.
In some parts of the U. S., ants live in acorns or twigs on the ground. Catch
new queens near porch lights in warm months. If you are lucky, you may see new
queens before they have found a place to dig. Worker ants and vertical dirt
ant farms can be purchased from many vendors.
By gently turning over rocks on warm spring days, you may find a colony with
the queen and brood. Since the light and air will disturb the ants, work quickly
to gather the queen and as much of the brood as possible before they go underground.
Use an aspirator or small shovel to remove the ants and brood from the colony.
If you use a shovel to dig, take care when placing the dirt and ants into a
container with light oil or Vaseline around the rim so that the ants can't escape.
Let the dirt dry out slowly. Place the test tubes with water and cotton plugs
in the box on top of the soil. As the soil dries out, the ants will move into
the tubes. When most of the ants are in the tubes, transfer them to a dirtless
nest. (Place an incandescent light over the container to make the ants move
faster).
*The above information is used with the permission of The Center for Insect
Science at The University of Arizona. The information was taken from a lesson
called "Using Live Insects in Elementary Classrooms for Early Lessons in Life"
(1993), published by the Arizona Board of Regents, Center for Insect Science,
The Universitiy of Arizona. The Center for Insect Science is an excellent source
of infomation on any insect questions and for classroom implementation of insect
lessons. Their telephone number is 520-621-2958.