What Do Ants Do All Day?

🕐 4 min 29 sec 👦 Ages 4–5 🌍 English
Join Koko and Owlo as they explore the fascinating world of ants and discover how these tiny creatures work together in their colonies!
Understand what an ant colony is Learn about teamwork in nature Discover where ants live and work
📖 Story Script
                    Koko:
                    Owlo! Owlo! I have to tell you something really exciting that happened today.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Well, come in, Koko. You look like you are about to burst. What happened?
                
                    Koko:
                    I was eating my sandwich outside at lunch, and I dropped a tiny piece of bread. Then, like magic, a whole line of ants appeared out of nowhere!
                
                    Owlo:
                    That does sound exciting! Ants are very quick workers. Did you watch where they went?
                
                    Koko:
                    They all walked in a perfect line, right back into a little hole in the ground. It was so cool. But where were they going?
                
                    Owlo:
                    They were going home, Koko. That little hole is the entrance to their ant home, called a colony.
                
                    Koko:
                    A colony? That sounds like a really big word for a really tiny hole.
                
                    Owlo:
                    It is a big word, but it means something simple. A colony is a big family of ants, all living and working together underground.
                
                    Koko:
                    Wait, they live underground? Like, under our feet right now?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Quite possibly, yes! There could be thousands of ants living just beneath the garden outside. I have a wonderful book about this. Let me grab it from the shelf.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Here we are. This book has pictures of what an ant colony looks like inside. See all these little tunnels and rooms?
                
                    Koko:
                    Woah, it looks like a little city under the ground! There are so many rooms.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Exactly! Each room has a special job. One room is for sleeping, one is for storing food, and one is the most important room of all — the nursery.
                
                    Koko:
                    A nursery? Like for babies?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Yes! That is where the ant eggs and tiny baby ants are kept safe and warm. Special ants called nurse ants take care of them all day long.
                
                    Koko:
                    So some ants are nurses? What do the other ants do?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Great question. Every single ant in the colony has its own job. The ants you saw carrying your bread crumb are called worker ants.
                
                    Koko:
                    Worker ants! So they were working when they took my lunch?
                
                    Owlo:
                    They were, indeed. Their whole job is to go out, find food, and carry it back to share with everyone in the colony.
                
                    Koko:
                    But how did they all know to come at the same time? I did not see any of them talking.
                
                    Owlo:
                    Ah, this is my favourite part. Ants talk to each other using a secret invisible trail. When one ant finds food, it leaves a tiny scent on the ground as it walks home.
                
                    Koko:
                    A scent? Like a smell?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Exactly like a smell. The other ants follow that smell trail, one after another, all the way to the food. That is why they walk in such a perfect line.
                
                    Koko:
                    That is the coolest secret code I have ever heard of. I wish I could leave a smell trail for my friends.
                
                    Owlo:
                    I think your friends might prefer a different kind of message. Now, there is one more very important ant we have not talked about yet.
                
                    Koko:
                    Who is it?
                
                    Owlo:
                    The queen ant. She is the leader of the whole colony, and her special job is to lay all the eggs so the colony keeps growing.
                
                    Koko:
                    So the queen is like the mum of every single ant in the whole colony?
                
                    Owlo:
                    In a way, yes. She is very important, and all the other ants work hard to keep her safe and fed.
                
                    Koko:
                    Wow. So ants have nurses, workers, and a queen. They really do have a whole city down there.
                
                    Owlo:
                    They do. And they work together so well that scientists say ants are one of the most organised creatures on the entire planet.
                
                    Koko:
                    Even more organised than me?
                
                    Owlo:
                    Perhaps just a little bit more, Koko. Now, can you tell me what you remember about what ants do all day?
                
                    Koko:
                    Okay! So, ants live together in a big underground home called a colony. Worker ants go out and find food and carry it back. They use a secret smell trail so everyone follows in a line. Nurse ants take care of the baby ants. And the queen ant lays all the eggs to make the colony bigger. Ants are basically tiny, very busy city builders. Next time I want to learn about how strong ants are, because I heard they can carry things way bigger than themselves, and that sounds impossible!
                
                    Owlo:
                    That is a perfect summary, Koko. And yes, ant strength is a wonderful mystery for another day. Well done today.