Ants: Tiny but Mighty

Worksheet Description

Ants are remarkable insects that live in colonies, working together like a well-organized team. You might have seen them marching in a straight line or scurrying around in your backyard. These tiny creatures have many fascinating features and play essential roles in the environment.

What Do Ants Look Like?

Ants come in various shapes and sizes, but they usually have a head, a thorax, and an abdomen. They have six legs and two antennae on their heads. Ants can be different colors, such as black, brown, red, or even yellow, depending on the species.

Where Do Ants Live?

Ants can be found all over the world, from the deepest forests to bustling cities. They make their homes in nests, which can be underground, in rotting logs, or even in the walls of buildings. Ants are excellent builders, and they work together to create intricate tunnels and chambers within their nests.

Ant Colonies and Jobs

Ants are famous for living in colonies, which are like ant cities. Each colony has a queen, worker ants, and sometimes soldier ants. The queen is the mother of all the ants in the colony and is responsible for laying eggs. Worker ants are the busiest members of the colony, doing tasks like foraging for food, caring for the young, and building and repairing the nest. Soldier ants protect the colony from intruders.

Communication

Ants are excellent communicators. They use pheromones, which are special chemicals they release, to send messages to other ants. For example, if a worker ant finds food, it will leave a pheromone trail for other ants to follow, leading them to the food source.