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You probably noticed the day ants arrived on your sidewalk last spring.
You probably noticed the day ants arrived on your sidewalk last spring.
The day they go back underground to stay is a sign of fall. |
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| What to look for: |
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Any ant will do! The best way to find out the date the ants finally go underground and stay there is to observe them every day. At about the same time each day (maybe recess or lunch) and in the same spot, watch your local anthill. If you see ants, make a check on this Ant Record Chart. Tell us when you have had three days in a row without ants. Watch in your neighborhood and around school. If you think you are the first person to see this event, ask your teacher to submit your name to the Wolf Ridge website (see table below.) |
| Why are ants are gone from sidewalks a sign of fall? |
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Who wouldn't after a long, cold winter in the mud? Ants, like frogs, turtles, snakes, and other cold-blooded animals, hibernate during the winter months. As the temperatures begin to drop in September and October, ants get cold too, and their behavior becomes sluggish. Soon all traces of ants will disappear as they move back to their underground nests to overwinter as adults, eggs, or larvae. Ants will often seek the deepest rooms of their many-chambered nests in the hopes of escaping both cold and snow. These tiny insects require little or no food during the winter. If you see ants out on a day where you humans certainly need your coats—remember that the ants’ world is very small. It may be a lot warmer when you are an ant living less than an inch from the ground. |
| Where do ants live? |
| Ants are found all over North America |
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| Cool Facts |
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Ants are amazingly strong for their body size. Ants can lift between 10-15 times their body weight. This is equivalent to humans lifting a small car! |
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Ants are social insects. This means that every ant has a specific job that must be done in order for the colony to survive. Jobs might include queens, food collectors, soldiers, nursemaids and builders. |
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Some ants are ranchers. They keep and take care of "herds" of aphids- an insect that gives off a sweet liquid that ants like to eat. Ants will milk the aphids like we do cows! When it gets cold outside, the ants will even bring the aphids and their eggs insides their nests to protect them. |
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Many species of ants are edible! They secrete a substance called formic acid that is used for defense. This is the same substance that is found in Sweet Tarts to give them that tangy flavor. (Don't eat ants without permission of course!) |
| What are the ants doing the rest of the year? |
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Ants spent most of the winter safely tucked away in their nests, but once it gets warmer, you are likely to see action from these tiny creatures as they begin building and improving their nests and looking for food.
There are many species of ants and so it is hard to generalize about them, but all ants have a similar life cycle. When conditions are right, special reproductive ants- the winged males and the queens- take flight and mate in the air. The male soon dies, while the queen survives, removes her wings and then goes off to establish a new colony. Her job is now to lay thousands of eggs. These eggs are cared for by the worker ants and are the first stage in ant metamorphosis. Once the eggs hatch, the ant will then enter the larva stage followed by the pupa stage. Once the ants finally become adults, they can then work to help support the ant colony. Metamorphosis from egg to adult takes about 3 months. Most of this process takes place during the warm summer months and finishes as ants enter hibernation at the end of autumn. |
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Think About It! |
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 Explore the Web |
| This site has two cameras to give you live footage of real ant colonies. Be patient- the pictures change every few minutes | |
| Fun activities and great ant photographs | |
| Use household materials to make your own ant colony. | |
| Learn about some of the amazing jobs that ants might have. |
| Learn more about insects in these Wolf Ridge classes: |
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Become a detective in Animal Signs class! Look for tracks, nests, and other signs of all sorts of animals. |
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Pull on some boots and splash in! Stream and Lake study classes turn you into a water doctor in order to perform several tests that help us determine how healthy Sawmill Creek or Wolf Lake are. You will be doing chemical tests to find out if there is enough oxygen in the water as well as hunt for the organisms that depend on it. Be prepared to find some really cool insects living in the water (as well as fish and crayfish). |
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