Colonies of army ants consist of a queen, workers, and soldiers. Workers are infertile females and are unable to establish their own colonies. Instead, they forage for food, bringing prey into their nests. Smaller army ant workers also tend to the queen’s eggs, while the soldier ants defend the nest. A single colony can contain up to 24 million individual ants.
Army ants typically nest in trees above the ground but also can form a bivouac, creating a nest from the bodies of the ants themselves. During this process, they use their claws and mandibles to attach themselves to one another, forming protecting walls to safeguard their queen and larvae. This structure is temporary and disassembles when the army ants mobilize.
Unlike other ant species, army ants are known to be nomadic, making temporary nests while traveling from one location to the next. During the nomadic stage, they march at night and stop to rest in daylight. This nomadic stage may last several days. There are over 200 species of army ants that exist worldwide. They are found in the southern United States, but are more common in Central America, South America, Africa, and parts of Asia.
Credit : Orkin
Picture Credit : Google
