Harvester ants climbing on plants, drinking from giant water droplets, and foraging for food. Ant colony members are constantly communicating with one another through their chemical language of pheromones, as well as tactile cues and even moving air molecules. To be able to drink the water, the ants use their mandibles (mouth parts) to puncture the surface tension of the rounded water drops. This program was made with the generous assistance of Les Greenburg and the University of Riverside Department of Entomology.
Having recently mated, a queen ant digs furiously underground to found a new colony. Only 2% of ant queens successfully found new colonies. The initial challenge is to select a suitable location for the new colony. Next, a newly-mated queen ant must dig down into the ground, where she will lay he...
The history of every ant colony traces back to the founding queen's first clutch of eggs. The queen patiently and attentively tends them while they develop into the subsequent immature life stages. The ant queen holds the eggs, stimulating them with touch. She must keep the eggs clean and safe fr...
Rare vantage of a new ant queen raising her first batch of brood through the immature life stages. Before it becomes an ant, an egg develops through three immature life stages. The 1st stage is egg, the 2nd is larvae, and the 3d is pupae. The queen constantly cleans her brood which protects them ...
