A social structure that designates its older females as warriors instead of its younger males certainly bears closer scrutiny. Ants are among the hardest workers in the animal kingdom. They’re organized with a highly functional and specialized workforce. Their perseverance alone would put most human workers to shame.
Have you ever noticed how quickly every ant in a colony will diligently get to work when disaster strikes and their mound is disturbed? They don’t fall into depression or accept defeat. They keep on building and working towards their goals.
Another quality that makes them so efficient is that they are such excellent communicators. Much of this is done through the use of pheromones, chemical signals picked up by the ants’ antennae. But they don’t just let one another know about danger. They also share information about what work needs to be done and where food can be found. If one ant finds out that your kitchen is a great spot for dining on sweets, then she’ll tell two friends and they’ll tell two friends and before you know it you’re overrun with ants. And all without the benefit of Twitter.
All worker ants are female which may explain their superior communication skills. Males can be distinguished by their two sets of wings. Queens, while being larger, also have wings which are discarded after mating.
Ants are preyed upon mostly by amphibians, birds and spiders. Bats usually catch the male ants in flight. In my yard, flickers have to be the ants’ worse enemy. These are woodpecker-like birds that have a special long tongue similar to the one anteaters have. They’re able to dig holes in the ground and catch numerous ants, pupae (the cocoon from which adults emerge) and eggs with this raspy tongue. The holes are everywhere in my lawn.
Ants survive Nova Scotia winters by going deeper underground or into dead trees where they receive some protection from the cold. Worldwide, they’re found on every continent except Antarctica.
No one preaches better than the ant and she says nothing.
~ Benjamin Franklin
Flandrum Hill 
“They don’t fall into depression or accept defeat. They keep on building and working towards their goals.” Oh, how I wish I could be more like an ant – accepting of a setback, yet still able to work toward the ultimate goal. Thanx for the lesson, Amy!
You’re welcome Cindy. I think we could all learn a lot from the creatures we step on, both literally and metaphorically.
The usual take on ants is that they live as slaves in a totalitarian system. I prefer your description of community-builders with good communication skills!
Gerry, I failed to mention that ants that get lost from the colony don’t survive for long. They greatly depend on one another.
All without the benefit of Twitter! Amazing. I had the thought, a couple hours ago, of writing a Labor Day blog about the working(s) going on in nature. Still avoiding the ‘work’ of going outside and seeing what nature has to say today… Thank you for the ant teachings, Ms. Amy.
Kathy, I wonder if ants ever have days when they’d rather not work. If they do, their co-workers probably talk them out of it 🙂
They are amazing in their focus. 🙂
Dawn, yes they are each extremely specialized in the work they’re supposed to do and focused on the task at hand. Certainly a recipe for success on the job if there ever was one.
Ants are indeed fascinating creatures! Have you heard of Steven Johnson’s book, “Emergence,” which speaks of “The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software”?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684868768/stevenberlinj-20
Worth a read!
(Similarly his “Everything Bad is Good for You”…)
[…] are super quick to relay information of new sources of food to one another. If in doubt, see Ant Labour. If you don’t clear the crumbs on your kitchen counter, one ant will tell two friends and […]