Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, which is the same family as wasps and bees. They are social insects, which mean they live in colonies with a caste system. Adult ants will fall in either one of three categories: workers (sterile females), reproductive females (queens), or reproductive males. The immature stages – egg, larvae and pupa – are referred to as the brood and are also found inside the nest. A colony that has only one queen in referred to as ‘monogene’ and a colony that has more than one queen is ‘polygene’.

One feature that distinguishes ants from other insects is its elbowed antennae. The first segment is called the scape and the remaining segments are collectively called the funicle. The pinched waist of an aunt is called the pedicel, a constricted area where you find the nodes (petioles) used to distinguish between different species of ants. The front wings of swarmer’s are longer and wider than the hind wings.

Like humans, ants secrete pheromones, chemical messages. Ants, however, us them for trailing, mating and warning (alarm) signals. Worker ants cannot digest solid food. They must feed solid pieces to the larvae which will digest and regurgitate the food back to the workers in a liquid form. Honeydew is a natural liquid food source for ant workers. Passing of food from mouth to mouth is a form of trophallaxis.

Ant colonies that have all the same size workers are referred to as monomorphic. If there are two size workers, usually referred to majors and minors, the colony is dimorphic. Polymorphic means there are many different size workers in the colony but they are generally divided into three groups. The smallest workers are ‘minims’ they stay in the nest and take care of the brood and queen. The intermediate workers ‘minors’ do it all, they take care of the brood and queens, defend the nest and forage for food. The largest workers are ‘majors’. The majors do the heavy work, crack seeds, move large stones, and defend the nest.