My Home:
I live in a colony, which can be in an anthill in the ground, a rotted log, an infested structure such as the foundation of a home or tree.
What I eat:
My jaws open sideways like scissors. I cannot eat 'whole' food, but instead use my jaws to squeeze out the
juice and throw away the hull. I eat almost anything, from
other insects to vegetation.
What I look like:
I have six legs and two eyes: which
are made up of many smaller eyes (or lenses).
I have two stomachs: the first for my food, the
second I use to feed other ants. I have two
antennae that I use for smell and touch. The
queen ant has wings and so do the male ants,
both for a short time.
How I am born:
I have four stages of development:
egg, larva, pupa and adult. The queen in my ant colony
lays thousands of eggs. Worker ants take care of my egg
until it hatches. I will live 45 to 60 days.
Fun Facts:
An ant can lift 10 to 20
times its own body weight.
If a man weighed 180 pounds, he
would have to lift 1,800 to 3,600
pounds to be as strong as an ant.
Ants have the largest brain of any
insect. The combined brain cells of a
colony of ants have about the same
number of brain cells as a human.
