Ants are social insects living in colonies
comprised of one or a few queens, and many workers. The queen
generally stays deep and safe within a nest. Most ants that you
see are workers and these are all females. Depending on species,
workers may be similar in size, or come in a range of sizes. Ants
tend to come in dark or earth tones. Different species are black,
earth-tone reds, pale tans, and basic browns. Caveat: Ants are
very diverse and it is difficult to generalize about them. Therefore,
if ants you collect don't quite fit these generalizations, consult
such books as The Ants (Hölldobler and Wilson) and/or local experts.
Adult Males and Females When ant colonies reproduce, the new queens
and males may be found in the colony. These are "flying ants"
and have two pairs of wings. Males generally have small heads,
large eyes, large thoraces, and a pair of claspers at the end
of the gaster. Once they fly (and mate), males do not live very
long. After mating, new queens break off their wings and never
fly again. Without wings, they can generally be distinguished
from workers by their larger body size, larger thorax and larger
abdomen. All workers are females. Immatures (different stages)
Ant larvae are white and grub like. They have no legs and don't
move about much on their own. You can generally see a large, dark
stomach through their cuticle. Ant pupae look like white adult
ants, with their legs and antennae pressed close to their bodies.In
some species, larvae spin silk and the pupal stage is inside a
cocoon. Newly emerged adult ants are often paler than older ones.
It may take them several days to reach their final color.
A Queen
lays her eggs (A) which will hatch into larvae. Larvae develops
into pupa and spin cocoons (C), finally emerging as adult ants
(D). Female ants tend to the larvae and the cocoons and also
forage above ground for food.
