A group of ants is called a colony when referring to the ants in their nest. A colony usually resides in a network of underground tunnels with a chamber at the centre for the queen.
A group of ants outside of their nest is normally referred to as an ‘army’ if the group consists of normal worker ants on the ground, or a group of ants may be called a ‘swarm’ if they are winged ants.
Examples:
- Army: I saw an army of ants marching around the kitchen so I called Merlin Pest Control to get rid of them.
- Colony: I moved a rock in the garden and discovered a colony of ants living there.
- Swarm: Last July there was a swarm of flying ants in my neighbourhood so I locked all the windows.
How big is a colony of ants?
Normal ant colonies typically contain anywhere between 1,000 to 100,000 ants while supercolonies can contain millions of ants that live together.
What does an ant nest look like?
When do ants come out?
Ants generally emerge from underground chambers during warm weather in the springtime to look for food. During the summer, large swarms of winged queen ants come out to fly and find a mate (commonly known as flying ant day).
Furthermore, ants are most active at night. About 15 minutes after sunset, workers emerge from the nest. They follow chemical trails in search of food, sometimes hundreds of feet from the nest, and often produce well-worn pathways through the grass, similar to cow paths.
After working, workers return to the nest to rest and socialise with other members. During the day, ants tend to be more solitary than at night. In fact, ants may spend the daytime resting on logs or stones rather than returning home.
How strong are ants?
An ant’s powerful jaws are attached to muscles that enable it to close its mandibles (mouthparts) more than 35 times per second. To keep enemies away from its nest, a busy ant swarm by emitting a foul-smelling repellent.
How long do ants live?
Ants can live for a few weeks to several decades, depending on their gender and colony state. Male ants, for example, live the shortest lives, only lasting long enough to procreate with female ants before dying after a few days.
Female working ants live in the colony for a few months at a time, working and serving their queen until they die. Finally, the queen of an ant colony can live for many years, even up to 30.
