The ant colony

12/21/2021 9:15:00 PM
Image: ripleys.com

Do you know?

  • Ants are social insects that form small to large colonies. The queen is the founder of the colony.
  • Some queen ants can live for many years and have millions of babies! When the queen of the colony dies, the colony can only survive a few months.

Let's explore more about the ant colony!

Let's learn some new words before you read the passage:

Listen to the passage The ant colony and complete the sentences by dragging the correct word to each blank.

Have you ever been on a picnic that was by ants? Ants are insects. The parts of an ant include the head, , , , and six legs. There are thousands of species of ants, and they are found living all over the world. Did you know that there is a science of studying ants that is called myrmecology?

Ants are social animals. That means they live and work together in groups. Each group of ants is called a colony. Each ant that lives in the has a specific role to play. There are four main roles in the ant colony. The first is the queen. The queen ant will mate with male ants and then fly to set up her colony. Once she has arrived at her nesting place, she will lose her wings and spend the rest of her life laying eggs.

The male ants have wings. They use these wings to fly and mate with the queen. Once the male ant has mated, it will die. The worker ants are non-reproducing female ants. These ants collect food and feed members of the colony. They are also responsible for the colony. If you see a group of ants, most of these are worker ants.

The last group of ants is called soldier ants. They are also non-reproducing ants that are bigger in size. Their main job is to defend the colony and to raid and attack other colonies.

Read and answer the following questions.

The Ant Colony

Each colony has only one queen. Image: qph.fs.quoracdn.net

Have you ever been on a picnic that was interrupted by ants? Ants are insects. The parts of an ant include the head, thorax, abdomen, antennae, and six legs. There are thousands of species of ants, and they are found living all over the world. Did you know that there is a science of studying ants that is called myrmecology?

Ants are social animals. That means they live and work together in groups. Each group of ants is called a colony. Each ant that lives in the colony has a specific role to play. There are four main roles in the ant colony. The first is the queen. The queen ant will mate with male ants and then fly to set up her colony. Once she has arrived at her nesting place, she will lose her wings and spend the rest of her life laying eggs.

The male ants have wings. They use these wings to fly and mate with the queen. Once the male ant has mated, it will die. The worker ants are non-reproducing female ants. These ants collect food and feed members of the colony. They are also responsible for defending the colony. If you see a group of ants, most of these are worker ants.

The last group of ants is called soldier ants. They are also non-reproducing ants that are bigger in size. Their main job is to defend the colony and to raid and attack other colonies.

Source: Daily Warm-ups Reading Grade 6

Where can you find the information about soldier ants?

  • in the middle of the second paragraph
  • in the end of the first paragraph
  • in the last paragraph

What is the role of the queen ant?

  • defending herself and her colony
  • mating with male ants and laying eggs
  • attacking other ant colonies
What is the meaning of the word "social" as used in this passage?
  • claw-like
  • has wings
  • communal

The writer probably wrote this passage to _____.

  • explain benefits of the ant to farmers
  • list different type of ants in a colony
  • inform the reader about the ant colony

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?

  • The size of the queen ant
  • The name of the scientific study of ants
  • The role of the worker ants

Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive phrases/idioms

Complete the second sentence using the word given so that it has the same meaning to the first.

She is in charge of buying food for the journey. (RESPONSIBLE)

Choose the underlined part that needs correction.

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  • Thousands
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Rearrange the words in the correct order to make a complete sentence.

If you mix red and white, _____.

  • you'll get pink
  • you get pink
  • you got pink
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