AntsThere are more then 10,000 species of ants and they all share the same commontraits. The traits that they share are three body sections. The body sectionsare the head, thorax, and abdomen. The head contains a relatively large brain. It also had the eyes, antennae, and the mandibles (which are shaped differentlydepending on the ant).
The antennae are what an ant uses to smell, touch, taste,and detect movement. The next part of the ant’s body is the thorax. This partof the body has small holes that allow ants uses to breath through. Anotheropening produces a chemical that kills germs.
On this body section there are sixlegs and small claws that allow ants to carry up to 20 times there own weight. The last body section is the abdomen. This section leaves trails of chemicals,which are also made in this section, that are used to communicate. Each type ofant leaves there own kind of chemical. The chemical tells other ants where foodis, it lets ants know that there are enemies around, it tells aunts where thenest is, and many other things.
Ants have been around since the dinosaurs. Scientist feel that a long time ago aunts began to produce babies in largeamounts. The babies would grow up and live near by; soon the babies and theirfamilies’ wold come and live with the parents forming colonies. A colony is anorganized community. All ants in a colony live and work to care for the onequeens offspring.
The colonies inhabitants are divided into different jobs. There are workers who find food, nurses, the female ants, who care for the youngand the food, and there is the queen, who is the mother of the entire colony. Once a year the male ants fly away and the female aunts, that have wings, flyaway and they mate and go off and star there own colonies.
