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Amazing Ants

By Catherine Schmitt
From the September 2024 Issue

An ant’s backside is called a gaster. Some ants, like this fire ant, have a stinger here. Ouch!

The middle of an ant’s body is called a thorax. It can be black, brown, red, or yellow.

Two antennae help ants smell, taste, touch, and communicate with other ants.

Ants have two big eyes and up to three little eyes.

Ants are among the strongest creatures in the world. They can carry up to 50 times their body weight!

Ants live in groups called colonies. The largest colonies can have 300 million ants! Each ant in the colony has a job.

Think and Write

Imagine you are an ant! What do you look like? What is your job? Write a journal entry about your day using details from the infographic.

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Can't Miss Teaching Extras

Continue learning about ants in this issue’s plays, “Fabulous Fables,” which feature small but mighty ant characters. 

Read about another small yet interesting creature in the infographic “Meet the Axolotl.” Then head to the Resources Tab to watch a video about the world’s weirdest animals. 

Looking for more ant-related fun? March your way into “The Ants and the Grasshoppers,” a play featuring hard-working ants and some not so hard working grasshoppers. 

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