Spring is back and so are ants. As much as we grown-ups dislike ants, especially in our kitchens, most children enjoy observing their busy ways. When they discover a colony of ants, it often develops into their first research project. Kids can hover over a number of ants for hours.

Why are the black dots marching along the driveway? Where are they going? Let’s see what happens when we put a stick into their path. Look, they’re carrying a dead bug. It’s so much bigger than the ants!

Did you know:

– Ants are quite social and like to live in big colonies.

– A colony might have between 1,000 and 300,000 ants depending on the ant species.

– The queen ant can live many years and have millions of ant babies.

– An ant can lift 20 x it’s own body weight.

– Ants work together to move bigger items.

– Ants are the longest living insects, some ant species live up to 30 years.

– Ants release chemicals (pheromones) to communicate with other ants.