Ant Colony Facts: Where Do Ants Live?

While this concept is somewhat new to humans, ants have been doing this for millions of years.  Ants live in colonies, but to say that they simply live there minding their own business is understating their importance.  Ants are social insects, and each ant has a role to play for the survival of their colony. They do not live just for themselves as most humans do.  Their concept of teamwork looks simple from a bird’s eye view, yet it is highly effective. Humans can go a long way studying how ants live.

The Makeup Of The Ant Colony

Ants are highly social insects. No one lives for itself. Each ant is fully committed to achieving the colony’s goals, which is the survival of the colony.  Each ant really devotes its energy for the advancement of the colony. And just like in all great teams, communication lines are always open with the ants. Yes, they do speak to each other only the way ants could.

A colony is led by a queen.  A queen can live for years and can have millions of offspring. If a queen somehow dies, the colony can survive for only a few months. That is how important a queen ant is. The rest of the ants in the colony are incapable of laying eggs because they are sterile. When a queen dies, and all the other ants die too, there would be no more ants to replace them, until the last ant in the colony dies.

The queen ant’s sole reason for living is to lay as many eggs as she can. Some can lay millions, which explains the long and lines you see on your walls at times. The queen has wings; the queen ant sheds these wings when they start a new colony. A colony may have one or more queens, depending on the species of ants.

The male ants, on the other hand, are the queen’s partners. Their only mission in life is to mate with the queen. They really do not live long after mating.

The worker ants are female ants that are not capable of laying eggs, they are sterile. Physically, they are almost similar to the queen, only smaller.  They are the ones we see working hard all the time. Their job description includes protecting the colony, foraging for food, feeding the colony, keeping the nest tidy, caring for the newly hatched ants, protect the nest, and even attack other colonies to get food and even the eggs of the other ant colonies. These eggs will be kept and waited on to be hatched. Ones these captured ants hatch, they will eventually become slave ants for the colony.

How Long Does A Colony Last?

For some species of ants, the colonies can last as long as there are queens. Some colonies have queens in waiting, and this new queen would step up when the old queen dies. Some can last for years, others for decades. Sometimes, the colony stays in a single place in all of its existence. At times, when ants feel there is a threat, they vacate their current spot and relocate to a safer place. They also relocate when they can longer find any more food source in the area to go find a new food source.   

How The Colony Is Formed

When new queen mates with a male, or there can actually be more than one, this new future queen selects the site which she deems best for her new nest. On this site would rise the new nest cells where she would lay her eggs and raise her initial batch of offspring.

Once she lays the eggs, these would eventually hatch and become larvae. When these larvae become adults, they will become the new workers. For the queen, it would be the time for her to just sit back, relax, and lay some more eggs after having paid her dues. After all, she built the nest all by herself and fed the colony. These new workers would then take over the task of looking for food. They would also be the ones taking over the expansion of the nest, they would need a larger one to make way for incoming ants. They also are now responsible for caring for the young and feeding the queen too. The colony then continues to grow.

After reaching a certain size for the colony, the queen would start producing new queens and males. Then the cycle would start all over again.

Types Of Ants And Where They Form Their Colonies

Carpenter Ants

Carpenter ants are considered very destructively, because their choice of a nesting site is wood. They build nests inside the wood, particularly damp and dead wood. They commonly infest the wood in houses and buildings, that is why they can cause huge structural damages like the termites. Unlike termites, the carpenter ants do not eat the wood. They just chew on it. Though they cause huge damages when they make their way inside our homes, they are ecologically helpful in the forests. They have this capability to excavate wood, which helps in decomposition in the forests.

Certain parts of our house are always vulnerable to carpenter ants, like the area around the windows, roof eaves, and porches due to the fact that these are damp and are the most exposed to moisture. Homeowners pick the best pest extermination services in Jamestown NC, Go-Forth Pest Control, to get rid of such nuisance in their homes.

Crazy Ants

Crazy ants travel long distances to look for food. They can live indoors, but they can also build their nests outdoors. They can choose either dry or damp sites for their nests. They can be found in hollow trees, rotten wood, under stones, under logs, among the rubbish, and in debris. They are called crazy ants because they will move around crazily without direction when disturbed. Though they do not bite, they are considered pests.

Argentine Ants

Argentine ants are common household pests too whenever they enter a house in search of food and water. These ants will set up their nests on the ground, in cracks on the wall, and in holes in the house. Outdoors, they live under rocks, or among leaf litter. This is because they are not capable of digging deep in the ground to build nests. However, they are opportunistic and will dwell in abandoned ants’ nests.

European Fire Ants

One of the world’s worst invasive species. They nest in gardens, lawns, under the rock, or wood debris. Inside the house, during the cold months, they are found in the bathroom, under the bathtubs, or in the heaters. When disturbed, they sing and their stings are very painful. Inside their colony, there are multiple queens. If they have become too invasive for comfort, you may try to look for the best pest exterminators in Jamestown NC. Residents and businesses alike in this town trust only one name: Go-Forth Pest Control since they have been in this business for more than 50 years now. They are about 2.2 to 2.8 mm in length and are light to dark brown in color.

Field Ants

Field ants build their nests in yards, wooded areas, and fields. You would know if there is a field ant in your yard when you spot a mound about 12 inches in diameter. They also nest under stones, logs, under timber, and porch slabs. They are 4 to 8 mm long and come in black, brown, or red colors. They can sting and are usually found outdoors only.

For Ants That Have Become Pests, Call The Best Pest Exterminators In Jamestown

Go-Forth Pest Control is a family-owned company with solid experience in the extermination of pests like ants, cockroaches, mice, mosquitoes, flies, spiders, weevils, moths, and wasps. Go-Forth Pest Control has a team of excellent professionals who are highly skilled and well-trained, using only the latest and most advanced equipment in the business. They also use family friendly and pet-friendly methods of extermination, so you can rest easy knowing that your family is safe.

They have established their presence not only in Jamestown, but in key cities in the Carolinas like Charlotte, Greenville, Asheboro, Greensboro, Burlington, High Point, West Columbia, and Chapel Hill. You may check their social media like Facebook and Google to see what our satisfied customers can say about Go-Forth Pest Control.

For more information, or to set an appointment, please contact us. Our friendly operators are standing by.