{"id":3503,"date":"2023-07-12T03:31:48","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T19:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/?p=3503"},"modified":"2023-09-19T20:10:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:10:55","slug":"what-is-a-group-of-ants-called","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is A Group Of Ants Called?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>There are a few collective nouns used to call a group of ants. These nouns include colony, army, and swarm. Usage of these nouns varies depending on context.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, we&#8217;ll learn more about these nouns as we break down when they&#8217;re used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"what is a group of ants called\" class=\"wp-image-3505\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Ants_with_rock.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Francesco Schiavone<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">CC BY 4.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_63 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called\/#Colony_of_Ants\" title=\"Colony of Ants\">Colony of Ants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called\/#Army_of_Ants\" title=\"Army of Ants\">Army of Ants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called\/#Swarm_of_Ants\" title=\"Swarm of Ants\">Swarm of Ants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/what-is-a-group-of-ants-called\/#Summary_What_is_a_Group_of_Ants_Called\" title=\"Summary: What is a Group of Ants Called?\">Summary: What is a Group of Ants Called?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Colony_of_Ants\"><\/span>Colony of Ants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Ants are social insects that live in organized <strong>communities known as colonies<\/strong>. These colonies vary in size. Depending on the species, they may contain a hundred to millions of individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ant colonies consist of <strong>different castes or classes of ants<\/strong>. These castes include queens, workers, and drones.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ant-colony-structure-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"ant colony structure\" class=\"wp-image-2519\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ant-colony-structure-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ant-colony-structure-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ant-colony-structure-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/ant-colony-structure.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Queens are generally responsible for colony founding and reproduction.<\/strong> They establish new colonies and grow them by laying thousands of eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Workers, on the other hand, are sterile females.<\/strong> They surrender their reproductive rights and help the queens instead. They do everything from collecting food, nest maintenance, and protecting the colony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lastly, <strong>drones are male reproductive ants.<\/strong> Their sole task it to mate with virgin queens and help establish new colonies. They often don\u2019t live long and die after reproduction. Hence, they\u2019re sometimes described as single-use sperm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Together, these castes work together to help the colony grow and survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See this article to learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/ant-colony-structure\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2516\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ant colonies and their structure<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Army_of_Ants\"><\/span>Army of Ants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/how-do-ants-find-food-3-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"how do ants find food\" class=\"wp-image-2117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/how-do-ants-find-food-3-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/how-do-ants-find-food-3-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/how-do-ants-find-food-3-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/how-do-ants-find-food-3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/monsterpong09-10463651\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4958495\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">monsterpong09<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4958495\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The collective noun army <strong>refers to ants marching on the ground<\/strong>.\u00a0 These ants are workers going about their daily activities. You&#8217;ll usually see these workers walking in straight lines as they follow a trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An army of ants is not the same as army ants. The latter refers to a group of highly aggressive predatory ant species. See this article to learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/are-army-ants-dangerous\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2889\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">army ants<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Swarm_of_Ants\"><\/span>Swarm of Ants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A swarm of ants refers to <strong>winged reproductive ants<\/strong>. They include virgin queens and drones.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"536\" src=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/how-many-queens-are-in-an-ant-colony-2-1024x536.jpg\" alt=\"how many queens are in an ant colony\" class=\"wp-image-2547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/how-many-queens-are-in-an-ant-colony-2-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/how-many-queens-are-in-an-ant-colony-2-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/how-many-queens-are-in-an-ant-colony-2-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/how-many-queens-are-in-an-ant-colony-2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Ant_Queen_-_Flickr_-_treegrow_(1).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Katja Schulz from Washington, D. C., USA<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At certain times of the year, these reproductives leave their nests to participate in the nuptial flight. This is a mating flight wherein reproductives from different colonies swarm to mate. It\u2019s a form of dispersal and reproductive strategy for establishing new colonies. See this article to learn more about <a href=\"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/how-do-ants-reproduce\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2389\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">how ants reproduce<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nuptial flights often occur in the late spring or early summer. You\u2019re likely to find these swarms within 24 hours after moderate or heavy rainfall on warm, humid days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary_What_is_a_Group_of_Ants_Called\"><\/span>Summary: What is a Group of Ants Called?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To summarize, a group of ants are called differently based on the context. In general, they\u2019re called a colony based on their social structure. However, they\u2019re also sometimes referred to as army or swarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An army of ants refers to worker ants on the ground. On the other hand, a swarm of ants refers to winged reproductives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are a few collective nouns used to call a group of ants. These nouns include colony, army, and swarm. Usage of these nouns varies depending on context. In this article, we&#8217;ll learn more about these nouns as we break down when they&#8217;re used. Colony of Ants Ants are social insects that live in organized&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3503"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3690,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3503\/revisions\/3690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scifaqs.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}