Ant

Ant colonies can contain dozens to millions of members organized into queens, workers, and males. Workers excavate tunnels, care for larvae, and forage for food, communicating via pheromone trails. Leafcutter ants harvest leaves not to eat directly but to feed a fungus garden that sustains the colony. Weaver ants stitch leaves together with larval silk to form nests suspended in trees.

Ants exhibit remarkable cooperation. When a scout finds food, she lays a scented path that recruits nest mates. Soldiers defend nests with strong mandibles or stings, while some species form living bridges or rafts to cross gaps and floods. Queens can live for years, laying thousands of eggs after mating flights that occur on humid evenings when winged males and females fill the sky.

Ants contribute to ecosystems by aerating soil, dispersing seeds, and decomposing organic matter. Some species protect plants by attacking herbivores in exchange for sugary nectar. Others, like Argentine ants, become invasive supercolonies that displace native species. Carpenter ants carve galleries in damp wood, sometimes damaging buildings but often recycling logs in forests.

Threats to ants include habitat destruction, pesticides that kill beneficial species, and climate change that alters flowering times for mutualistic plants. Conservationists design pollinator- and ant-friendly gardens, retain rotting logs, and study how prescribed burns influence ant diversity. Citizen scientists participate in Backyard Bark Beetle and School of Ants projects, collecting specimens to map species distributions.

Students observe ant behavior by building plaster nests with clear sides, timing how long foragers follow scent trails, or testing how temperature affects activity. By respecting ant colonies, limiting soil disturbance, and avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides, communities preserve these tiny engineers that keep ecosystems humming.