### animal | arthropod | insect | ant:

Giant ant
* Most giant ants have abdomens.
* are among the hardiest and most adaptable vermin.

### animal | arthropod | insect | ant:

Harvester ant
* Some harvester ants eat insects
  - other insects
  - have specially strong jaws for crushing seeds
* Some harvester ants live in deserts
  - dry deserts
* are an example of an ant species that eats seeds
  - known to aid seed dispersal via myrmecochory
  - much larger and make large bare areas with a single entrance hole to the colony
  - polymorphic with both major and minor workers
  - the preferred food of Texas horned lizards
  - very large and have a nasty and painful sting
* assist in the distribution of plant seeds.
* can bite and sting.
* feed on seeds, which they gather in prodigious quantities.
* gather and feed on seeds and other vegetation
  - store plant food
* have a blunt stinger but can produce a painful sting.
* make up the majority diet of horned lizards.

Honeypot ant
* belong to any of five genera.
  * Their abdomens are filled with food by worker ants. Other ants then extract nutrition from them. They function as living storage containers. This process is called 'plerergate'. Honeypot ants belong to any of five genera. They were first documented in 1881 by Henry C. McCook.

Individual ant
* are tiny and their brains are tiny.
* run into other ants going the opposite direction.

Male ant
* Some male ants do have wings, but they tend to be slightly less noticeable.
* appear only in very large or old colonies and die soon after mating with the new queen.
* are generally winged and usually keep their wings until death
  - much smaller than females and have longer antennae
* develop from unfertilized eggs.
* die after mating.
* have only one purpose, to mate with the fertile females
  - the sole purpose of mating with the queen

Native ant
* Some native ants have deadly sting.
* are the biotic resistance that help defend areas from really high levels of fire ants.

Pavement ant
* Most pavement ants feed on plants.
* are small black ants that feed mostly on proteins
  - very common in the eastern United States
* feed on a wide variety of food
  - foods including other insects, greasy foods, and plants
* like to nest next to and under sidewalks and other types of slabs.

Queen ant
* Most queen ants have years.
* Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies
  - have babies
* Some queen ants live for many years
* are able to bite with the little clipper like things on their mouths
  - several times larger than the workers
  - the largest ants in the colony
* establish new communities, or nests, after their mating flight.
* have wings, which they shed when they start a new nest

Real ant
* communicate with each other by a chemical system called pheromones.
* use a variety of different approaches to find their way back to the nest
  - the Sun for navigation too

Red ant
* Most red ants cause damage.
* Some red ants live in fields.
* are on one side and black ants on the other.

Soldier ant
* Most soldier ants have abdomens.
* protect the column by standing to one side with their jaws open.

### animal | arthropod | insect | ant:

Thief ant
* All thief ants are white during their early stages, and later change to adult colors.
* Most thief ants become household pests
* Most thief ants cause crop damage
* Most thief ants have antennas
  - characteristics
  - small colonies
* Some thief ants enter homes
  - structures
  - feed on proteins
* Some thief ants undergo complete metamorphosis
* are named for their habit of stealing food from the nests of other ants
  - omnivorous
* can be difficult to control
  - nest in homes and other buildings, and often invade during warm weather
* farm a few species of honeydew-producing insects.
* feed on protein and greasy foods such as nuts, meats, cheese, peanut butter and sweets.
  - follow characteristics
* sneak in to other nests and steal broods.