The Life and Times of Ants

So, the last few selections in our reading anthology focused on ants.  My students were so fascinated with the way ants are able to communicate and build a community without being about to speak.  Ants have very specific roles in the community.  There are foragers, nursery workers, soldiers, and more.  Ants use pheromones to communicate with each other much like humans.  My class was especially interested in how the women do all the work in the colony and there are no men.  Apparently male ants appear for a short amount of time to mate with the Queen.  After mating ends, the male disappears and/or dies.

Best Question from a student:

"Isn't this like our life?"

I literally Laughed Out Loud.  This student has a very good understanding of REAL life!

I think I have some budding myrmecologists in the class.