Food, water and survival · 6 min
How Long Can Ants Live Without Food or Water?
Compare laboratory observations of ants without food or water, and learn why species, conditions and colony stage change the answer.
Natural history
Facts and colony life
Clear explanations of ant biology, ecology and the collective behavior of a colony.
Ants in grassy habitats · 6 min
Do Ants Eat Grass? Grass Seeds, Leafcutters and Lawn Damage
Distinguish grass blades, seeds, fungus farming and nest disturbance—and understand what ants in your lawn may actually be doing.
Inside an ant · 6 min
Do Ants Have Hearts? How Their Internal Organs Work
Find an ant’s heart, compare it with a human heart, and explore how circulation, breathing, the brain and other internal organs work.
Ant food webs · 6 min
What Eats Ants? Ant Predators and Garden Examples
Meet ant predators around the world, compare how they feed, and discover which animals may eat ants in US and UK gardens.
Colony biology · 7 min
How Many Ants Are in a Colony? Sizes by Species
Compare published worker populations, understand what makes a colony small, and see why one nest does not always equal one colony.
Colony hygiene · 7 min
Why Do Ants Carry Dead Ants?
Ants carrying dead ants are often removing waste from their nest. But carrying, gathering around and eating another ant are different behaviours—and the ant being carried may still be alive.
Colony biology · 7 min
What Happens When a Queen Ant Dies?
What queen loss means for surviving workers, future generations and possible replacements—and what you can actually tell from the brood.
Colony biology · 5 min
How does an ant become a queen?
Caste is settled during larval development by several inputs acting together — and the balance between them differs from species to species.
Colony biology · 6 min
How big is a queen ant?
Queen ant sizes in millimeters and inches, with published measurements for four species and practical comparisons with workers.
Seasonal biology · 5 min
Do ants hibernate?
Many temperate colonies enter seasonal dormancy, with reduced activity and interrupted development. Internal timing and environmental conditions both matter, and species differ.
Natural history hub · 3 min
Ant colony biology
Queens, workers, brood and collective decisions: a map of how an ant society grows and maintains itself.
Natural history hub · 3 min
Queen ants
What a queen actually does, how to tell one from a large worker, where she comes from, and what a colony does when it loses her.