The Remarkable World of Ants

Ants can carry objects 50 times their body weight, leveraging their incredible strength. They also work in highly organized colonies, showcasing teamwork that allows them to accomplish complex tasks, such as building intricate nests and farming fungi.

Ants use pheromones to communicate, leaving scent trails to guide others to food sources or alert them to danger. This chemical language is sophisticated, enabling them to coordinate large groups and maintain social order within their colonies.

Certain ant species practice agriculture by farming fungi. Leafcutter ants, for example, harvest leaves which they use to cultivate fungal gardens. These fungi are their primary food source, demonstrating an advanced level of agricultural knowledge and sustainability.

Some ants, like the Malaysian exploding ants, sacrifice themselves to protect their colony. When threatened, these ants rupture their bodies, releasing a sticky, toxic substance that can immobilize or kill predators, showcasing extreme altruism and colony-first behavior.

Ants are exceptional engineers, able to create complex structures like bridges and rafts using their own bodies. During floods, ants link together to form living rafts, ensuring the survival of the colony by floating to safety.

In Brazil, an abandoned ant colony was excavated, revealing a structure the size of Manhattan with a complex network of tunnels and chambers.