What are Ants?
Ants are six legged social insects that can be found almost anywhere on the planet. There are 455 types of ants in North America alone and they can be identified by their elbowed antennae and a distinctive node-like structure that forms a slender waist. Ants prefer cool and damp locations and live in large and complex colonies that can consist of millions. Ants build many different types of homes. Many ants build simple little mounds out of dirt or sand. Other ants use small sticks mixed with dirt and sand to make a stronger mound that offers protection from rain. Some ants also live in wood, like termites. A single queen ant can live for up to 30 years and can lay millions of eggs over her lifetime. Eggs usually develop into full adult ants over an 8 to 12 week time-frame.
Ants are found on all continents except Antarctica, and only a few large islands such as Greenland, Iceland, parts of Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands lack native ant species.