Beverly Gerdeman - Ants for Kids: A Junior Scientists Guide to Queens, Drones, and the Hidden World of Ants

To my Junior Scientists: Ana, Erika, Mauria, and Diedre!

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CONTENTS

WELCOME, JUNIOR SCIENTIST!

Have you ever watched ants and wanted to know more about them? Perhaps youve

seen hundreds of ants scurrying in a long line and questioned where they were

going. Do you wonder what their homes are like, or why some ants can fly? If these

are things youve thought about, you are a junior scientist!

In this book, you will learn about these amazing insectswhere they live, how

they communicate, and what they eat. You will learn about ant

colonies

and the

roles of different family membersqueens,

drones

, and workers. Finally, you will

get up close and personal with some of the most amazing ant

species

in the world

along with common ants you may see in your own backyard.

Do you want to observe ants firsthand? Great! This book will show you how. It

also has tips on starting your own ant farm so you can spy on the secret lives of

ants. Everything you ever wanted to know about ants is right at your fingertips.

Lets start exploring!

PART ONE

AMAZING

ANTS

Ants are everywherealmost.

Antarctica, Greenland, and Iceland

are the only regions that are cur-

rently ant-free. However, ants are

on the move and populating new

areas. Ants are so small that they

can easily stow away in cargo ships,

airplanes, and even backpacks!

Scientists who study ants are called

myrmecologists

. They think Earth

is home to 10 quadrillion (16 zeros!)

of these tiny insects, but no one

really knows for sure. More than

15,000 species have been identi-

fied so far, but many scientists think

there could be at least 9,000 more.

Ants of the Past

Ants are ancient. We have

fossils

to

prove it! Some ants were fossilized

when they got trapped in tree sap that

hardened into amber. Others got stuck

in mud and left imprints that turned to

stone.

Titanomyrma lubei

, the giant

hummingbird-size ant from Wyoming,

was fossilized this way. The oldest ant

fossils are 100 million years old. This is

about when flower and fruit plants

started to grow on Earth. Scientists now