Tales from the Ant Hill Trivia Quiz

Answer: Formicary

A formicary is any dwelling of a colony of ants, such as an anthill or ant nest. The term is sometimes lengthened to formicarium for artificial anthills such as are sometimes used when ants are kept as a pets. Formicaries vary in size from barely visible to over eight feet tall.

Answer: Carpenter ant

There are over a thousand species of carpenter ants, all of which make their homes in forested areas of the world. They derive their names from the fact that they make their homes inside of wood. Unlike termites, they do not eat and digest the wood, rather they make labyrinths inside of moist or decaying wood.

These large ants feed on other dead insects and occasionally on some plant secretions. Camponotus vagus can be found in Europe, Asia, and areas in North Africa. Large colonies can contain over ten thousand individuals.

Answer: Hawaiian Islands

Ants can be found on every continent except Antarctica. They can also be found on almost every island group no matter how isolated. Only a couple of places such as Iceland, Greenland, a few areas in Polynesia, and the Hawaiian Islands do not have any native ant species. Once they are introduced to a location, they can be very hard to eradicate.

Answer: True

Ants are believed to have evolved around 130 million years during the early Cretaceous period and had some types of dinosaurs for neighbors. The oldest fossilized ant is an extinct species named Sphercomyrma freyi found in lumps of ancient amber, or fossilized plant resin.

A fossilized Sphercomyrma freyi was found in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey. Aged about 80 million years old, it's the oldest known ant fossil.

Answer: Fire ant

Fire ants can be found in all continents except Antarctica. The United States, China and Australia have been invaded to various degrees with fire ants that were introduced in shipping crates. Unlike most ants, fire ants use a toxic venom which can cause death to adult humans who are susceptible. Most ants bite and then spray formic acid on the wound.

The term 'fire ant' comes from the sensation of a bite. It is often described as a burning feeling which can last for more than half of an hour.

Answer: Entomophagy

Ants and their larvae are common food source in many parts of the world. They may be roasted, baked, fried or eaten raw. They contain high levels of protein and are known for their tangy, sometimes sweet flavor.

Answer: Smelling, tasting and touching

The ant uses its antennae for smelling, tasting, and touching. Ants have an excellent sense of smell and use this sense as their primary method of communication. Unlike most insects, ants have jointed antennae with allows them greater movement of their antennae and improves their ability to sense both predator and prey which may be approaching.

Answer: Through their exoskeleton

Ants do not have lungs, instead they breathe through their exoskeleton using tiny valves called spiracles. Ants also do not have a heart instead using a dorsal aorta which functions in a similar manner and is located in the head. Ants have compound eyes and eye function varies between species. All six legs are attached to the middle section of the ant, and only fertile ants have wings.

Answer: Head, thorax, abdomen

All ants have three segments. They are called the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. No matter the size or species of the ant, they all have these three segments, along with six legs, and a pair of antennae.

Answer: Almost all ants are female

Most ants are female. All the workers, soldiers, and nurses are sterile female ants. The only fertile female ant is the queen. The only ants which are male are drones. The queen ant copulates frequently during her brief mating period and then never mates again.

She stores sperm in an internal pouch which she opens periodically to fertilize her eggs. Queen ants have been known to live for over 28 years in captivity, making ants one of the longest living insects on the planet. All ants have only six legs and there are a few species which can float, very few species can actually swim.