Facts About Ants

Ants come from the Formicidae family along with bees and wasps. Ants are known to be the smartest species of insects with about 250,000 brain cells and have an average life span of 45-60 days. They are also known to run very fast using their three jointed extremely strong legs. To put it in perspective, if a human had the legs equivalent to those of an ant we would be able to run as fast as a racehorse! Sound interesting? There are millions of facts about ants that are just as interesting, if not more, than those listed above.

When it comes to the body structures ants are one of a kind. They typically grow anywhere from 2 to 7 millimeters long, with an exception of the carpenter ant. A carpenter ant get grow anywhere from 2 centimeters all the way up to an inch in length. Carpenter ants are said to be the largest species of ants in the United States. Ants come in a variety of colors, which include, brown, red, yellow, green, blue, and even purple. The ant is also so strong that they can lift up to 20 times their own body weight.

Many think that ants only use their antennas for touch, as they do use them for feeling they also use them for smelling. When an ant eats their food, it goes to one of two stomachs. They have a stomach for storing their own food and then another for storing food for other ants in their colony. Ants don't, however, eat food like we do because they are unable to swallow solids. Instead they squeeze the juice from their food, whether it is a seed, plant, or another insect.

You might remember at times seeing an ant with wings or at least an insect that looked like an ant with wings. Male and female ants are both born with large wings. When the ant matures, these wings are used so that the ant can fly into the air to mate. Once they are done mating, the male ants' wings fall off and he will typically die. The female, however, will use her wings to fly off and start her own new colony somewhere else. After she has reached her destination, her wings will fall off.

Western harvester ants are the typical species of ants that you will find if you were to purchase an ant farm. The reason for this is because they are the best type of ant for tunneling, building, and being watched under observation. The western harvester ant will also live about 2-6 months long, longer than another species normally would.

Ants are very interesting and fun to learn about for every one of all ages, with so many interesting facts about ants, you will never be bored.