Habits
Ants typically make their nests in or on the ground. The soil excavated to make the nest may be piled up around the opening to the nest, forming a mound or crater. The nest is typically composed of several long tunnels that lead to chambers. The chambers serve as storage areas for food and as nurseries for the young.
Some ants live in the wood of trees or rotten logs. The workers of one tree-dwelling species make nests by weaving leaves together with silky threads secreted by their larvae. Some ants have well-defined territories and build permanent nests. Others move from one site to another, building a new nest each time. Some ants share their nests with ants of a different species and sometimes with other kinds of insects, or with spiders. A number of ants make their nests in human dwellings, particularly in wood siding or in the foundation.
Some species of ants eat live insects while others feed only on decaying animal matter. Others cultivate and eat fungi. Some ants gather seeds and grain for food. Several ant species tend "herds" of aphids and scale insects to obtain the sugary liquid, called honeydew, that they excrete.
Ants eat fruit, flowers, and seeds, while others eat everything in their path, including small animals.
Ants have special mouthparts for grabbing and eating food. First come the mandibles, which are jaws that move from side to side. Ants use their mandibles to hold food, carry their young, and fight enemies. Behind the mandibles are the maxillae (mak SIHL ee), which are used for chewing. But ants do not swallow the food right away. First the food passes to a pouch behind the mouth. There, the liquid is squeezed out of the food. Ants swallow the liquid and spit out the leftover food pellet.
Ants have two kinds of stomachs—a stomach and a crop. Food an ant eats for itself goes to the stomach. Food it shares with others is stored in the crop. The ant spits up this food to feed other ants and larvae. Hungry ants may stroke each other or tap antennae to ask for food.
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