The great wonders of nature are found even in the smallest creatures

Field Study: Ants

Tamayo Sara M.

City College of New York

Professor Bolster

September 24^th, 2020

The great wonders of nature are found even in the smallest creatures

Abstract

The following Field Study is intended for 5th-grade students and up. In this paper, I will summarize what I learned from observing a group of ants. I will also write about the qualities that make them fascinating. These creatures are often seen as small and simple. However, they can accomplish outstanding things, such as carrying objects ten times heavier than them and “smelling” without having a nose.

Keywords: ants’ colonies, release of pheromones, the use of antennae, two stomachs, surviving for years.

You may think it is chance, but nature always finds you

Have you ever wondered what happens to your food when you dropped it on the floor? Does it disappear? Maybe it stays there forever? Well, I almost, by chance, discovered that food plays an important role in the survival of a small interesting insect. It was a warm summer afternoon; birds were chirping outside, and I was at work getting ready to eat my lunch. My workplace is located in a small peaceful town called White Plains. This town has a lot of trees and bushes everywhere you go. You can see brown squirrels, colorful birds and a lot of stinky skunks all over. I decided to eat my lunch out because I wanted to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful nature of White Plains. I sat on the pavement (Figure 1) and right by my side there were a lot of bushes, flowers and small trees (Figure 2). I started eating my chips with chunky salsa and suddenly, I dropped one of the chips by mistake. I did not pay much attention at first. I finished eating, and when it was time to leave, I tried to reach the chip to put it in the garbage (it is very important to always clean after you eat). However, I found out it was full of ants!! The chip stop being thrash and became the source of food of these small insects. I was in a rush because I needed to go back to work, so I could not investigate more. I left the chip in the same place (I felt bad for the ants, I did not want to take their food away) and I went back with a lot of questions. Where did they come from? How did they know there was food nearby? What do they do with the food? I was so curious that I decided to go back next week to observe them a little more.

The process of tracking food

When I went back the next week, I was more prepared. The weather was the same, even a little warmer. There were no clouds in the sky, just the beautiful sun and its rays keeping us warm. I proceed to do the same as in the previous week. I dipped a chip on the chunky salsa, and I placed it in the same location as the last time (Figure 3). After five minutes, the first ant appeared. It was a tiny brown ant so small that I could barely see it. It placed its body over the chip. After about ten minutes, more ants came out from underneath the pavement. These ants were bigger and black. They were moving all over the chip. Twenty minutes after, the whole chip was full of ants (figure 4). But, how did they know there was food over there? Can they smell it? To understand the answer, think about the following. Imagine that each time you go to eat, you leave a trail of perfume all over the street until you get to the restaurant, so your friends smell the scent and track the path to get to where you are. Well, something similar happens with ants. Instead of perfume, they release a chemical called pheromones. They leave trails of this chemical, so other ants can follow it and find food. Ants do not have noses, but they smell and track these pheromones using two little sticks that they have in their heads (Gorman J, 2019). These sticks are actually called antennae (figure 5).

The black Pavement Ants

As shown in the photos above, the ants I observed were black and slightly bigger than those we usually find inside our houses. These characteristics, plus the fact that they were coming from the holes in the ground along the sidewalk, lead me to conclude that I encountered pavement ants. This type of ants usually make their nests inside buildings below the pavement and are a widespread insect in the United States (Maggie’s Farm, 2020).

Fascinating facts about ants

Ants often go unnoticed and are insignificant to most people. My aunt even thinks that from all insects they are the most boring and simple ones. However, these living beings are more complex, unique and exciting than anyone can imagine. Fact #1: Ants are invertebrate animals; that is, they do not have bones in their bodies. However, they still manage to carry objects ten to twenty times heavier than their weight, (westernexterminator, n.d) which would be the same as any human lifting a big truck. This ability helps them to carry big chunks of food (figure 6).

Fact #2: These insects live in colonies, which are home to thousands of ants and each of them has different roles or jobs inside the colony. The queen is in charge of leading all ants. It is responsible for having a lot of eggs to continue with the species (Ants, 2018). The female workers have to collect food and take it to the colony (Ant Facts for Kids, n.d.).

Fact #3: Before doing this observation, I use to think that ants only eat candies and sweet food. But the chunky salsa and chips are very salty, and they still include it into its diet. That is because ants, specifically pavement ants, eat almost everything, including other insects (Ant Facts for Kids, n.d.). Fact #4: Ants have two stomachs!! They use one for processing their food, and the other is used to transfer food to the rest of the colony (Ants, 2018). This ability allows female workers to survive on their own while taking care of the colony. These facts are an example that ants are not a simple insect. They actually follow complex systems and have a lot of abilities that helps them to survive every day. Maybe this is way they have been living in the world for over 92 millions of years (Avery T, 2008).

What we have learned

Observing these insects helped me understand that there is not only one kind of ants but also that there are many different species, and each one of them lives in a particular location. I also realized that their behavior is more complicated than I was aware of. Not only do they live as a community, but they even can spare food correctly. Besides, they do not have noses, and they still manage to find food and take it to the colony. These characteristics show how wonderful nature is. Sometimes, animals that may seem insignificant hide exceptional qualities. It is essential to understand that science is our bridge to knowledge, and if we pay close attention, we will find essential things right by our side. Next time you drop your food, you know it may become aliment for an entire colony of ants.

References

Ants. (2018, September 24). Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/ants/

Avery, T. (2008, June 25). Ants: Their History, Life, and Purpose – Owlcation – Education. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://owlcation.com/stem/The-Amazing-World-of-Ants

Gorman, J. (2019, January 22). How Ants Sniff Out the Right Path. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/22/science/ants-navigate-scent.html

Maggie’s Farm. (2020, April 07). How to Get Rid of Pavement Ants. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://maggiesfarmproducts.com/blogs/bug-help/get-rid-of-pavement-ants

N. (2018). Ants. Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://www.pestworldforkids.org/pest-guide/ants/

10 Interesting Facts About Ants. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2020, from                           https://www.westernexterminator.com/ants/10-interesting-facts-ants/