Ants

Ant receiving honeydew from an aphid.

Ants who would have thought such little craters had so much power. There are over 1200 different kinds of ants in the world. The most common ants are Fire Ants, Sugar Ant, and Argentine ant. They are very important to the land where we grow food. They enrich the soil by decomposing dead animals, insects and decomposing matter. Ants also help with pollination just like bees since they are walking on flowers and they are always on the move. It gets moved from one to another.

This is an image of what an Argentine Ant looks like.

Workers about 1.6mm long.

Light to dark brown in color.

Do not swarm.

Bite – do not sting

This link will help us understand why ants are important to the ecosystem. You will be able to see that ants are not harmful to you or your crops. Ants are able to big tunnels to get water minerals and many more beneficial items to the land they are at. They are able to care for one food 5 times their body weight and this helps them keep the land and crops resorted. 

 "A new study from the University of Copenhagen, and funded by an ERC Starting Grant, demonstrates that these ants might be one up on us as far as farming skills go." link

 

A Quote from Braiding Sweetgrass 

"If time could run backwards, like a Film in reverse, we would see this mess resemble itself into lush green hills and must covered ledges of lime stone. The streams would run back up the hills to the springs and the salt would stay glittering in underground rooms."

Work Cited 

Colberg, Eva. “Measuring the Health of Huge Ecosystems Is Possible with the Help of Tiny Ants.” Massive Science, 25 July 2019, massivesci.com/notes/ants-ecosystem-restoration-and-health-species-diversity/.

Types of Ants in North America, www.westernexterminator.com/ants/species/.

“Ants Are Skilled Farmers: They Have Solved a Problem That We Humans Have Yet To.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 4 Nov. 2020, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201104102209.htm.