Ants family Formicidae
Ants are well known social insects with elbowed antennae, rounded abdomen that is connected to the rest of the body by a slender waist, and strong jaws carried on the head. There are many species of ants, which may be pale yellow, reddish or brown. There are about 50 species of ant that live in Britain.
Habitats
Ants are essential elements of all habitats, and they are often the most abundant insects present. Their nests are excavated networks of tunnels and chambers, either underground or under large stones etc.
Behaviour
Ants live in colonies, which are divided into separate work forces. Workers are non-breeding females that collect food, care for young and defend the colony. The queen is larger and stays in the nest and lays eggs. This arrangement means not every individual can have young, but the colony works as a team to increase the probability that their ‘family’ survives into the future.
Breeding
Mating takes place when the colony produces a swarm of winged, reproductive queens and males. Mated females descend to the ground, shed their wings and find a place to lay their eggs, which hatch to form a new colony. The males are no longer needed and die.
Feeding
Workers take plant food, such as seeds, and small invertebrates back to the nest for the colony to feed on.