How much do you really know about ants? 8 questions — learn as you go!
📚 What you learned about ants
Why does a lasting ant colony need a queen?✅ Only she can lay eggsWorker ants can't lay worker eggs — without a queen, no new ants are born and the colony winds down.
How long can an ant queen live?✅ More than 10 yearsAnt queens are astonishingly long-lived — many live over 10 years.
How do ants tell nest-mates where the food is?✅ They leave invisible scent trailsAnts lay scent trails (pheromones) that other ants follow straight to the food.
What two kinds of food does an ant colony need?✅ Sugar and proteinSugar water fuels the workers, and tiny bits of insect protein feed the growing larvae.
Why should you never tap on an ant farm?✅ To ants it feels like an earthquakeTapping shakes the whole nest — a stressed colony hides instead of building.
Can the harvester ants in classic kits sting?✅ Yes — and it really hurtsHarvester ants can give a genuinely painful sting, so ant farms are strictly watch-only.
How does a brand-new queen colony start?✅ In a test tubeA new queen raises her first workers in a simple test tube with water behind cotton, kept dark and quiet.
Why can't you mail-order a queen ant from another state in the US?✅ USDA rules don't allow itUS Department of Agriculture rules don't allow queen ants to be shipped across state lines.
Praying Mantis
Stick Insect
