Hobbies And Interests
Soil
Ants dig elaborate tunnels in the soil with sections for food and a place for the queen to live and lay eggs. The queen's tunnel, made for flood safety, branches off and then up to prevent the queen from drowning. As the ants dig their tunnels they carry the dirt to the surface, creating an ant hill. Ant hills can be very large or very small depending on how deep the species of ant digs into the soil. Some ant nests are as deep as 15 feet. The tunnels interconnect or lead to chambers or rooms. The chambers are used to store food, garbage or ant eggs or larvae. Ants help aerate the soil, just like earth worms, when they dig and build their ant homes.
Wood
Carpenter ants make their homes in many types of wood. Telephone poles, trees, dead trees or people's homes make good habitats for carpenter ants. Carpenter ants build their home in wood exposed to moisture. Carpenter ants cannot tunnel through wood, but rather use tunnels that have been abandoned by termites or small void areas like those found in hollow limbs of trees.
Nomadic Ants
Some ants do not build permanent homes. Nomadic ants build temporary homes and travel from place to place. Nomadic ants are typically found in tropical areas and build temporary nests from their own bodies to protect the queen and larvae, or ant eggs. These ants march at night when it is cool and rest during the day. Nomadic ants sometimes build temporary homes in trees far above the ground.
Plants
Some ants make their nests in plants. The ants are fiercely protective of their plant homes, defending the plant from predators, by irritating large animals and killing insects that may harm the plant. A hollow plant stem or large flowering cups make good homes for these ants. This cooperative relationship between plants and certain ants is called symbiosis--both the ants and the plants benefit from one another.