Ants: Week Three

Mae making her Week Three observations.

Our ant colony continues to change, and Mae made some notable observations today.  Mostly, she reports on how filthy the farm has become.  Many ants have also died, though many (7+) are still thriving and working in their habitat.  They continue to move sand around, and are avid eaters when fed.  They also continue to care for their deceased, moving them to the same area they designated in Week Two.

We learned today that Harvester Ants will travel long distances for food in the natural world, sometimes as much as 25 miles.  They return their finds to their colonies and share their food with all.  Also, although our habitat consisted of around 20 ants at first, a normal ant colony will house upwards of 10,000 ants!  We were shocked to learn that.

As we read about Harvester Ants, we learned that they spend much of their time cutting small pieces of grass for use in their nests.  Mae pointed out that such behavior is like what farmers do with corn, and that they call that work a "harvest".  Great connection to enrich our understanding of of the origins of the name!