Ant story - Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History ...

Dr. Sheila Grant(Mica’s mom)Formica“Mica” GrantAmy AntBy Elisabeth Schlegel, Jessica Louton, Natasha Mehdiabadi, and Ted SchultzIllustrated by Katherine Arisumi

Dr. Grant: Ants are not boring to scientists hereat the Natural History Museum.There are a lot of useful things we can learn bystudying ants.Dr. Nate Adenine uses genes in ants to discoverwhat species they are and how ant speciesevolved from ants that lived withthe dinosaurs.Dr. Addison Acacia studies theinteraction between plants andants.I study the outsidecharacteristics (morphology)of ants so I can identifywhich species it is andhow it is related toother ants.

Mica: Whatever, mom. I still think ants are boring. All they do is crawl on your picnicfood and on you. Why would anyone want to study ants?..zzzzzzz…Amy Ant: Youwill know soonwhy ants shouldbe studied.See you soon…

Mica: Mom? Where am I?Oh no!What is that?Help me please!Somebody!Amy Ant:Where are you?Mica: Over here!Please hurry!I am about to fall in!Page 4

Mica: Thank you. What was that thing you saved me from?Amy Ant: That was an antlion. They build traps for ants and if we fall in they eat us.Mica: Oh no, I was veryclose to falling in.Thank you…excuse me,but what are you doing?Amy Ant: My, my,you are the oddest antI have ever seen.Mica: Silly, I’m not anant. I’m a girl.My name is Formicabut people call me Mica.Why are you putting your antennae on me?Amy Ant: Ants use chemicals and scent (pheromones) to communicate.This is my way of saying hello and getting to know you.

Mica: Well it is an odd way of greeting new friends. Where am I?Amy Ant: You are in my nest.I brought you here to learn aboutants. Ants are more ecologicallyimportant than you think.Some ants grow fungus to feedthe colony.Some ants harvest seeds.Some ants herd other insectsthat provide food for the ants.Some ants live on other animalsand protect them fromparasites.Mica: Wow, I did not know thatants were so important.How is an ant colony started?

Amy Ant: We have onequeen who started thenest and is mother to allof us.Mica: You mean every antin the nest is your brotheror sister?WorkersAmy Ant: Yes.Mica: But some of themare larger than you andsome have wings.MinorAmy Ant: That is becausethere are several differentkinds of ants (castes). Iam a minor worker ant. Myjob is to care for mysisters (a eusocialbehavior).Page 7

Amy Ant: The larger worker ant without wings is a soldier.She is larger because shedefends the nestwhen needed.The group of mysiblings with wings arereproductives. Thisgroup contains bothmale and female ants.When they mature,they leave the nest tomate withreproductives fromother colonies.FemaleReproductivesMaleThe females in thiscaste set up new antcolonies and becomequeens. The males donot live very long aftermating.Major (soldier)WorkersPage 8

Amy Ant: An ant’s life begins as an eggwithin a reproductive female ant. If anegg is fertilized it becomes a new femaleant. If not fertilized, the egg becomes amale ant.AdultPupaLarvaAs the egg matures, it becomes a larvaand is tended by workers who provide thelarva with food. The food provided to thefemale larva determines if it is a queen,soldier, or worker later in life.As the larva grows, it becomes a pupa.The pupa then develops into an adult.Mica: What kind of food do ants eat?EggPage 10

Amy Ant: Most ants arepredators or scavengersbut some ants eat fungusthat they grow in theircolony. Leafcutter antscollect fresh leaves, bringthem back to their nest,and break these down intosmaller pieces. These smallpieces are used as a mulch(substrate) for the fungus.Mica: Wow, some ants arefarmers!Page 11

Amy Ant: Some members of ahoneypot ant colony fill theirstomach (abdomen) with food(flower nectar and othersweet substances) untilswollen. The other ants thenreceive food from the swollenants.Other ants “milk” plant lice(Homoptera,including aphids)for the sweet nectar the liceprovide. This nectar is sodelicious some ants tend thelice, like farmers tend cows orpigs.Mica: It seems like ants reallylike to eat sweet things. I havesome cake in my backpack.Would you like some?Amy Ant: This cake isdelicious!Page 12

Mica: I will be sure to sharesome of my cake with antsoutside my home.Amy Ant: Now that you knowall about ants you are readyto go back to the museum.Mica: But I had so much funhere. Can’t I stay and help?Amy Ant: You can always visitthe Smithsonian ants in theInsect Zoo and visit yourmom’s office to see her livefungus-growing ant colony.Time to wake up…Page 13

Dr. Grant: Time to wake up Mica.Mica: Mom? Oh mom, I justhad the most amazingadventure! I was an ant.Well, not really. I was antsize and talked to Amy.Dr. Grant: Who?Mica: The worker over there.Where did she go?Dr. Grant: You have a greatimagination.Mica: No mom, it was real.Dr. Grant: Come on, dear.Let’s go to lunch.Page 14

Dr. Grant: Now Mica, tell meabout this dream?Mica: Mom, it wasn’t a dream.Ants are so cool. I went to acolony. I almost was eaten by anantlion but Amy rescued me. Iwas sniffed and told I was anunusual ant. I learned all aboutant castes, life cycles, and antsocieties.Dr. Grant: Wow! Soundsincredible!Mica: Do we have any cake left?Dr. Grant: Why?Mica: I was going to feed it to theants.Dr. Grant: That sounds like awonderful idea, but only feed theants outside.Page 15

Mica: Oh mom, this is so great!Ants love sweet food andAmy loved this cake.Dr. Grant: Make sure not to touchthe ants. Ants can bite and someants sting when they are disturbed.What else did Amy tell you?Mica: Lots of things. How some antsgrow fungus, how ants help otherinsects and animals, how ants livetogether and care for each other.I feel as if I know tons of informationabout ants.Dr. Grant: The Smithsonian hasseveral activities for kids on ants. Doyou want to print out and do theactivities?Mica: Sure, that sounds like fun!Goodbye Amy Ant!Page 16

Acknowledgements• Eugenia Okonski• Stephanie Johnson• Jerry Louton• The SI AntLab• Department of Entomology• Alex Wild, www.myrmecos.net• This material is based upon worksupported by theNational Science Foundationunder Grant No. DEB0949689.

See youlater!The End