ANTS

Ants are incredible creatures. Each colony has its own smell. Each of the ants in the colony knows the smell. Enemies will not be able to enter their camp without being discovered.

Several types of ants have a sting to protect their nest when intruders turn up. The queen ant is the only one who can lay eggs for the colony. None of the other ants can lay eggs at all.

The worker ants cannot lay eggs. They take care of newborn baby ants. They also search for food. These worker ants protect their nest from enemies. They also keep the nest spick and span. They take out the “trash” from the nest and place it in one area.

Slave-maker ants rob the nest of other ants. They steal the pupae, the cases that hold the ant eggs. Then they bring the pupae back to their camp. When the stolen cases hatch, these stolen ants become slaves.

Finally, all ants have antennas and jaws. They need antennas for smelling and touching. They have strong, long jaws. They open and shut sideways like pairs of scissors. Adult ants cannot chew and swallow food, so they squeeze the food until the juice comes out. They swallow the juice and throw away the leftover dried parts of the food.

Ant colonies must have worker ants and slave-maker ants. They must also have a queen ant to lay eggs. They must have a way to catch other ants that try to get into their nest. Without a queen to lay eggs, or antennas to hear and touch, and jaws to tear food, there would be no ant colonies left in the world.