Tree Ants March

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Hymenoptera

Family: Formicidae

Genus: Pseudomyrmex

Species: Pseudomyrmex ferruguinea

Ants are insects that live together in large groups called colonies. They make their homes in places like tunnels underground, dead wood such as logs, and even in living trees. Ants in a colony have different assignments. Some of them are workers, and they gather food and bring it back to the colony. Other ants maintain and defend the nest. Some types of ants even harvest seeds. Most species are predators and scavengers and travel in canals in hundreds, which can destroy entire areas of forests in a couple of hours. Ants can carry twenty times their body weight. Ants can either bite or sting if they need to protect themselves or the colony. Each colony has an ant whose entire job is to lay eggs for the entire colony, which makes her the queen of the colony. There are more than twelve thousand species of ants in the world.

Precautions

Jay, Ralphie, and all their friends are alive and live in the real world. Like all living things, if you meet them in person, you should always treat them with respect. Most importantly, they should only be handled by experts.