Ants live in large groups called armies or colonies, in a home called a nest. These colonies can be as small as a few dozen, or as large as a million or more!
A nest is often underground and is made up of lots of tunnels (galleries) and chambers. The queen lives in they very heart of the nest, where she lays eggs and is in fed and cared for by the youngest worker ants. Other chambers are are kept as nurseries for the larvae and pupae, while others are used to store food.
The pile of dirt you see at the entrance to the nest is used as incubators. On warm days, when the dirt above has been warmed up by the sun, the ants bring the babies and larvae up to be warmed up. While on cold days, they take them down to the shelter of the deepest parts of the nest.
Each nest is home to one colony and each colony has three to four different castes or members – queens, males, soldiers and worker ants. Let’s meet them…