It’s that time of year again where we no longer have to sit inside in the cold . Summertime is a wonderful time for life including, unsurprisingly, ants. Those of you familiar with YouTube channels such as AntsCanada probably know that people do keep ants as pets. Those of you that are not aware ofContinue reading “Keeping ants”
Category Archives: Ants
Species Profile: Lasius niger
Common Name: Black Garden Ant Scientific Name: Lasius niger Family: Formicidae Subfamily: Formicinae General Information Native Range: Europe, parts of Asia, and introduced to North America Habitat: Urban areas, grasslands, forests, gardens Colony Size: Large (100,000+ workers) Colony Type: Monogynous (single queen) Physical Description Worker Size: 3-5 mm Queen Size: 6-9 mm Coloration: Dark brownContinue reading “Species Profile: Lasius niger”
Hell ants
Yes you read the title right today we are getting straight into it and talking about hell ants. They are some of the coolest ants to have lived and I want to share their coolness with you. Hell ants are the species found in the Subfamily Haidomyrmecinae. They are Unfortunately (or fortunately if you’re anContinue reading “Hell ants”
Flying ant day is almost here!
Recently on my lunch break at work I did what I usually spend my time doing, flipping logs and seeing what is living under them. What I found are the telling signs that flying ant day is on its way. Below I will show you the signs. If you want to know what flying antContinue reading “Flying ant day is almost here!”
Weird and Wonderful adaptations part 2: Honeypot ants
Today I will be taking a look at one of my favourite ants: honeypot ants in the genera Myrmecocystus. I think you’ll agree that they earn the titles weird and wonderful. Honey pots ants of this genus are native to North and central America. They live in very harsh environments such as Deserts where water andContinue reading “Weird and Wonderful adaptations part 2: Honeypot ants”
An update and a vote!
Hello everybody I hope you are all well. The mega-project I am currently working on is really mega so it will be quite some time before it is released. I don’t want to leave you without any new content for that long and, quite frankly, I need something else to do for a few days.Continue reading “An update and a vote!”
Ants and the tree of life visualized
Today I am going to show you how huge and messy the tree of life really is. This is purely here because it is cool and it can help to put things into perspective. Enjoy. If you learned about taxonomy in school you were probably shown something like this: Looks simple right? That’s because itContinue reading “Ants and the tree of life visualized”
Bullet ants and pain
If you have heard of ants then I am pretty sure you have heard of bullet ants. If not then oh boy you are in for a treat. So sit back, relax and get ready for my first post of 2021! Bullet ants, Paraponera clavata, are a large species of ant found throughout Central andContinue reading “Bullet ants and pain”
Ant colony founding
Ant colonies. They all start somewhere. With the thousands upon thousands of species there are so many different ways that these colonies start off. I will be upfront, this will probably have a second part. I will probably get carried away and make a post several thousand words long. And nobody wants that. So letContinue reading “Ant colony founding”
Castes
Within a colony, there is a lot of work to be done. So many different tasks need completing. From foraging to feeding, from defence to digging, all of these roles require different actions and abilities. An average ant could probably complete these tasks, although not very well. Some tasks they couldn’t complete at all suchContinue reading “Castes”
Weird and Wonderful adaptations part 1: Silver ants.
This is the first of a series of posts about specific species or genera and the extraordinary adaptation they have. This could be a behavioural or physical adaptation. If this is a series you would be interested in please let me know by liking the post, commenting or adding yourself to the mailing list foundContinue reading “Weird and Wonderful adaptations part 1: Silver ants.”
If ants were human sized
Imagine an ant the size of a person. Ignoring the mass hysteria and the fact that this is impossible, what could an ant do? Just a single ant. Not a colony. Just one. Well a Saharan silver ant, Cataglyphis bombycina, can run 100 times its body length in a second. So if an ant ofContinue reading “If ants were human sized”
Become scientists!
I recently heard about an app in development and I reached out to the creators to ask if I could write about it. I genuinely love this app idea and am writing this out of my own volition. I contacted them with some questions and I used this information to write this post. Enjoy! SoContinue reading “Become scientists!”
Ant or Termite?
So, termites are fascinating animals and deserve to be respected in their own right instead of just being a comparison to ants. Let me know in the comments at the bottom of the page if you would be interested in some termite content. I am more of an ant person but would be willing toContinue reading “Ant or Termite?”
Colony life cycle Part 1: The basics
Before we start, I am just going to say that this will cover the general lifecycle of an ant colony. There are so many different colony cycles that I cannot cover them all in 1 post. So, stay tuned for some more posts about more unusual species. But for now, enjoy. In a hole inContinue reading “Colony life cycle Part 1: The basics”
Ant Life cycle
OK so today we’re going to cover the life cycle of an Ant. Where insects such as butterflies have a simple circular life cycle, ants do have a circle but it’s got bits coming off of it. Small like a life sun If anything. Anyway, I will try my best to explain it and asContinue reading “Ant Life cycle”
Ants and their size Part 1- The big ones
Over the last few posts, we have been covering some heavy science. Well done for making it through but I feel like we need a break. To be honest, I need a break from all that science. There are only so many times you can write a big word in a row before it breaksContinue reading “Ants and their size Part 1- The big ones”
Ant Evolution
In this post will be covering how, when, why and who ants evolved. This is an exceptionally long story. The Lord of the rings is a film series that’s nine hours long. That is pretty long. How I Met your mother was nine seasons and that was just about how he met a woman. SoContinue reading “Ant Evolution”
Why do ants live in colonies? Part 1: Genetics
When Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace first wrote about evolution, ants confused them. A lot! The whole point of evolution is to get better at spreading your genes and having as many of your genes in the next generation. So, animals evolve and adapt to become better at having children and having their childrenContinue reading “Why do ants live in colonies? Part 1: Genetics”
What is an ant?
This seems like a very easy question to answer: Ants are small things that ruin picnics. While this is technically true, I promise you that the full answer is much more interesting than that. It is much more complicated too but all interesting things are! Ok so ants are animals that live in colonies thatContinue reading “What is an ant?”
What is this site all about?
Ants are amazing animals and not enough people agree with that. To fully appreciate these bizarre and alien animals, you need to understand them and look a little closer. I will try to get you to appreciate them as much as I do. Hopefully, you will see they can be beautiful, ‘intelligent’, strong, and justContinue reading “What is this site all about?”
Alex's Ants 