Information About Ants

From this page you can select a subject to read and learn a variety of information about ants.

Clicking on each of the buttons will take you to a page of my website dealing with that particular subject.  Because each subject is vast, I therefore include a brief description above each button summarises the facts about ants that you can learn.

Information about Ants

Species of British Ant

Firstly, I describe some of the more common species of ant found in Britain. In addition, there is also a downloadable identification guide to most of the species of ant found in the UK, and links to lists of all ants found in the UK. Moreover, there is an external link for ant genera of the world.

Life Cycle of the Ant

The life cycle of an ant goes through four distinct phases from egg to adult ant, with subtle differences between species. Therefore , I teach you how long it takes for each cycle to complete its phase. Similarly, I explain how flying ants are produced. 

How an Ant Colony Starts

On this page, I describe just how an ant colony starts. There are in fact several methods of colony creation, and for that reason I show you how a colony of Lasius niger ants is created. In addition, I include a brief description of other methods used by British ants.

What do Ants Eat?

What do ants eat?  This is a common question I am asked when people contact me for information about ants, therefore I discuss this topic too.  The diet of ants around the world is wide and varied.  This website is about British species of ant. Thus I concentrate on those species.

Types of Ant Nest

Information about ants includes not only ants themselves, but where and how they live. For instance, there are many types of ant nests, and they can be simple or complex in structure. Ant nests are a form of shelter and home that protects ants from their enemies, and the environment around them, such as the weather. Above all, it provides protection for the queen and brood.

External Anatomy of Ants

The anatomy of the ant is a large topic.  Therefore I have split it into two sections.

Firstly, In this section I discuss the external anatomy of ants, or the body parts of an ant.  As with all insects, ants have their skeleton on the outside, though it’s not quite like the skeleton we think of such as the one we have inside of us. The skeleton of an ant is called a cuticle, and like our skin, for instance, it has many layers. After that, we discuss the internal anatomy of the ant.

Internal Anatomy of Ants

Secondly, and continuing with facts about ants, I discuss questions such as, What is inside an ant’s body? Do ants have a heart, brain and lungs? I also tell you other anatomy related facts about ants. For instance, How many stomachs do ants have? Have you ever wondered whether ants have the same organs as we humans do?

How to Keep Ants in Captivity

Finally, I receive a lot of questions from people wishing to keep ants. For instance, can you keep ants as pets? Is it easy to do? How much does it cost? Where can I keep my ants? What do I need to consider? And, how do you keep ants in an ant farm. In other words, how much work is involved? It can be quite daunting for the noice. Therefore I show you how easy it can be to keep ants as pets. In addition to that I talk about my own captive colonies.

Ask questions about ants

If you wish to ask me a question about ants (and no, I won’t tell you how to destroy them or their nests!) then please contact me on my**@an*****.uk or you can ask on the contact thread

I aim to respond to your questions as quickly as I can, normally within 24 hours.

Thank you for reading my Information about Ants page.