Mighty Ants

Exploring an Ant Colony

by Alice Boynton and Wiley Blevins

illustrated by Kathi Ember
Mighty Ants
Exploring an Ant Colony

by Alice Boynton and Wiley Blevins

illustrated by Kathi Ember
 Imagine That! books are produced and published by Red Chair Press
Red Chair Press LLC PO Box 333 South Egremont, MA 01258-0333
www.redchairpress.com

FREE Lesson Plans from Lerner eSource

and at www.redchairpress.com

Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data

Names: Boynton, Alice Benjamin. | Blevins, Wiley. | Ember, Kathi, illustrator.

Title: Mighty ants : exploring an ant colony / by Alice Boynton and Wiley Blevins ; illustrated by Kathi
Ember.

Description: First edition. | South Egremont, MA : Red Chair Press, [2017] | Series: Imagine that! | Interest
age level: 006-009. | Includes Fact File data, a glossary and references for additional reading. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “The mighty ant has been around since the age of
dinosaurs. These hard-working insects can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Readers discover
how ants work as a team and why they’ve been able to survive so long as we explore an ant colony.”--
Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017930463 | ISBN 978-1-63440-274-3 (library hardcover) | ISBN 978-1-63440-276-7

(paperback) | ISBN 978-1-63440-278-1 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Ants--Behavior--Juvenile literature. | Insect societies--Juvenile literature. | CYAC: Ants--

Behavior. | Insect societies.

Classification: LCC QL565.2 .B69 2017 (print) | LCC QL565.2 (ebook) | DDC 595.7961782--dc23

Copyright © 2018 Red Chair Press LLC

RED CHAIR PRESS, the RED CHAIR and associated logos are registered trademarks of
Red Chair Press LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in an information
or retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical
including photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission
from the Publisher. For permissions, contact [email protected]

Technical charts by Joe LeMonnier

Photo credits: Shutterstock, Inc

First Edition by:

Red Chair Press LLC PO Box 333 South Egremont, MA 01258-0333

Printed in the United States of America

0517 1P CGBF17
 Ants are industrious, or hard-working insects that
live mostly in colonies. In a colony, hundreds or
thousands of ants live and work together as a team.
Sometimes ants even have to solve problems as
a team. Worker ants take care of the colony and
search for food. Other ants take care of newborn
ants. These amazing insects have been around
since the time of dinosaurs. They can be found on
every continent on Earth, except Antarctica. Are
you ready to explore how ants live and work?

Table of Contents
Exploration Begins. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Fact File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Words to Keep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Learn More at the Library. . . . . . . 32
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
 “Gram, have you seen our ball?”
Soñia and Freddy started looking on every
shelf and under every bag.
“Niños, por favor!” said Gram. “Please, we
need to get ready. You’re getting in the way.”

4
 “You’re like ants at a picnic,” Dad said, smiling.
Freddy started crawling around like an ant.
Everyone laughed. Everyone except Soñia.
She stood still and got a faraway look.

5
 Suddenly, Soñia was standing in tall, tall
grass. A wooden table loomed over her like
a skyscraper. A foot the length of a football
field stood inches away.
Where am I? she wondered. Sniff, sniff.
Barbecue!

6
 Just then, a chunk of hamburger in a bun came
crashing down. An ant dashed straight to it.
“Oh, no! Ants!” thundered a voice.
Soñia laughed. “Now I see what Dad meant.”
7
 The ant was hard at work. She cut off a
corner of the bun with her sharp jaws and
carried it off. “You’re a scout searching for
food,” said Soñia. “Hey, wait! I’ll help.”

It's a Fact
Ants can lift 5 times
their weight; that’s like
a 50 -pound kid lifting a
refrigerator. If the food
is ver y large, ants try to
break it up. If they can’t,
they find a way to work
together to lift and carry
the load.

8
 Soñia pulled at the bun with all her might.
She tore off a piece. “Wow, this is heavy,” she
said. “Ants are tiny, but they are really strong.”
9
 Suddenly, Soñia was back in her kitchen.
She blinked. What an adventure she’d had!
“We’re ready, niños,” Gram said.
“Freddy and I can help carry stuff,” said
Soñia. “Teamwork gets the job done.”
28
 Then she tucked cookies into her pocket.
“Who are those for?” asked Freddy.
“The ants,” said Soñia as she smiled. “They
have a lot of mouths to feed!”

29
Fact File

Stay in Touch Pal! How ants communicate

Ants must communicate well to be so successful at working together.
They use four senses* to do this.
Smell Ants emit a scent that other ants smell through their
antennae. This is how they warn of danger and how
they tell of food sources.
Touch Ants tap each other by their antennae to tell about
finding food or to ask about food.
Sound If an ant gets trapped in the nest, such as walls
collapsing, the ant will wiggle the small joint between
waist and abdomen to make a squeaking sound other
ants “hear” by vibration through their legs.
Taste Ants may give other ants a sample of food when they return to the colony.
They do this by mouth-to-mouth exchange.
* Ants do not have good sight. They depend on their other senses.

Just the Facts!

It’s good to be the Queen. The queen ant can live up to 10 or more years.
The average life of an ant is only about 50-60 days.

There are 35,000 kinds of ants in the

world. Only sixty species of ants are found
in North America.

Based on size, if a human could run as fast

as an ant, she would run as fast as a
30 racehorse!
How Big?!
The largest ant species in the world is the Paraponera
clavata. The worker ants can reach a size of 3cm
or more than one inch in length! These big ants are
found from Honduras to Brazil in rain forests.

shown actual size

Words to Keep
abdomen: the largest part of an ant’s body, where its organs and food
are kept.

antennae: feelers that help ants touch, taste and smell.

mandibles: an ant’s strong jaws, used to dig,

cut and carry things.

predator: an animal that naturally hunts another.

prey: (noun) an animal that is hunted or killed mandibles

by another for food;
(verb) to hunt another for food.

31
 Learn More at the Library
Books
Iasevoli, Brenda. Ants! (TIME For Kids Science Scoops).
Harper Collins, 2006.

Micucci, Charles. The Life and Times of the Ant.

Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.

Whiting, Sue. All About Ants. (NG Science Chapters).

National Geographic Children’s Books, 2006.

Web Sites
Ant Facts for Kids
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/ant/

BioKids: Ant Facts

http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Formicidae/

CoolKids Facts
http://www.coolkidfacts.com/ant-facts-for-kids/

Index
abdomen............................... 10 predator................................ 13
antennae......................... 14, 21 queen................................24-25
larvae................................22-23 scout....................................... 8
mandibles.............................. 20 tunnel........................ 15, 16, 20

32
 Have you ever wondered what the world was like in the
age of dinosaurs? Maybe you’ve dreamed of exploring
space or taking a journey to frozen Antarctica. It’s easy to
do when you open your mind to the world all around you
— and Imagine That!

TITLES IN THE SERIES INCLUDE THESE ADVENTURES, AND MORE.

Let it Rain
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by Alice Boynton and Wiley Blevins

illustrated by Mike Blake

As broad as a child’s imagination, IMAGINE THAT! books take

readers on exciting journeys.
• Along the way, scientific facts about the topic are presented
• Combines fun, fictional stories with informational text
• A perfect complement to reading standards for grades 2 and 3
(understanding and comparing literature and informational texts)