1.
What surprising fact do we get to know at the beginning of the story?
Ans: – At the outset, we are told how of all tiny animals ant is the tiniest but the wisest insect. The people who have kept them as pets and observed their activities very closely, they have concluded ants to be a very hardworking and intelligent creature.
2.
How do ants communicate with each other?
Ans: – Ants do not communicate like humans. They have a unique way of communication. An ant uses its feelers or antennae to talk to other ants by passing messages through them. We can find a row of ants moving upon down the wall. Each and greets all the others coming from the opposite direction by touching their feelers.
3.
What are the common kinds of ants?
Ans: – Ants are of various types. But if we have to divide them into common groups, we shall find that the commonest among them are black or red ones.
4.
Describe an anthill.
Ans: – Ants live in their comfortable homes called ‘nests’ or ‘anthills’. Each anthill has hundreds of rooms and passages. In these rooms stay grubs, workers, soldiers, cleaners and others. Queen ants stay in one of the rooms and lay eggs. Besides, some of the rooms are used as storehouses to keep food.
5.
How do different ants live in the anthills?
Ans: – Various types of ants live in the anthills. There is queen ant living in the anthills and lay eggs. There are grubs which live in rooms which are called the nurseries. Worker ants live in reserved quarters. They spend most of their time searching for food. There live the soldier ants which protect the other ants. There even live the cleaner ants doing their responsibility for cleaning.
6.
How do ants live a disciplined, intelligent, peaceful and brave life?
Ans: – Ants are the most disciplined living beings on earth. In the anthill lives many types of ants but they only accomplish their duty properly and never interfere in other works at all. Workers ants never tried to live in the soldier’s house. No soldier has ever gone out for searching food. No worker or soldier or cleaner has ever harmed a grub. So the ants lead a very peaceful life. Each of the ants does its share of work intelligently and bravely and never fights with other members of the group.
7.
Tell us about the wedding flight of the queen ant?
Ans: – The queen is the mother of the entire population of the colony. It lives for about fifteen years. It has a pair of wings, but bites them off after its ‘wedding flight’. This flight takes place on a hot summer day. The queen leaves the nest and goes out to meet a male ant, or drone, high up in the air. On its return to earth, it gets rid of its wings and then does nothing but lay eggs. 8. How do other ants take care of the grubs?
Ans: – After hatching the eggs, of the green ant grubs come out. All other ants now take care of the grubs until maturity. Soldiers guard the grubs. Workers feed and clean them and also carry them about daily for airing, exercise and sunshine. Two or three weeks later, grubs become cocoons and lie without food or activity for three weeks more. After this, the cocoons break and perfect ants appear.
8.
How are the newborn ants taught for the big world of works?
Ans: – After the cocoons break and perfect ants come out, it is the time for the ants to be trained and taught. New ants learn their duties from old ants as workers, soldiers, builders, cleaners, etc. After a few weeks, training, the small ants are ready to go on into the big world of work.
9.
Why do ants want some alien creatures to live in their nests?
Ans: – Anthills are not only the homes for ants but also for some other creatures like beetles, lesser breeds of ants and the greenfly. They do so because they smell pleasant to the ants’ senses; others give sweet juices, and some are just pets or playthings like cats and dogs to human beings. Antsallow greenfly because greenfly is like the ants’ cow. The ants train it to
give honeydew (like milk) with a touch of their antennae. They milk it just as we milk the cow.
10.
What could humans learn from the ants?
Ans: – In reality we, the humans have not learned a thing from the ants. We could learn, hard work, sense of duty and discipline, cleanliness care for the young ones and above all, a firm loyalty to the land where we live.