Delighting in the Days....

Jun. 19, 2008 - Honey Ants

Honey Ants Gather Honey Dew Secreted by Aphids the Ants Farm Photographic Print
Grall, George
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One of the best things about homeschooling is learning right along with my children. This week we have all been intrigued by honey ants. Have you heard of them? They are amazing! God certainly created some amazing creatures.

We first read about them is this book (which we love):

Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1 (Christian Liberty Nature Readers)

The ants store honey in their body to help sustain the colony during times when food is scarce. They are like living honey pots! Their abdomens stretch out and become quite large.

The other neat thing about honey ants is that they have "pet" aphids. They tickle the back of aphids to get then to release a sweet substance called honeydew. The ants then take it and feed it to the repletes(the ants which store the sweet stuff).

This is where I just love having the internet. We googled "honey ant" and found some great photographs and videos.

To see a gallery of honey ant images click here

Here is great video we really enjoyed. It shows honey ants harvesting honeydew from aphids!

Here is another great video:

Last of all I want to share a few pictures my daughter drew of honey ants:

• Post A Comment!

Jun. 19, 2008 - Never heard of them

Posted by Ros

That is very cool. I haven't heard of those neat little ants. Learn something new every day, huh! I love the internet for that sort of thing too - a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips! One day we stumbled upon a neat little creature called an 'Orchid Mantis' online. You could get your kids to look up that one. My children loved looking at pictures of these on google images - they thought they were quite beautiful!

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Jun. 20, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by kateyz

We learned about honey ants from watching Planet Earth videos. Very interesting little critters!!

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Jun. 21, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

Oh, Melissa read that nature reader when she was little, and she just loved it! And your daughters drawings are so, so adorable. Sweet!

Susan L

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About Me

I am an Australian married to an American, currently living in the U.S.A. Join me as I strive to delight in the moments that make up our days and aim to have a happy family that loves God and serves others.