EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Social insects are the ants, bees, wasps, and termites that have organized societies. They have one or a few females responsible for all the egg laying, while other members of the colony (usually sterile females) gather food and do other tasks.

Detailed explanation-2: -Ants are considered social insects because they live in organized colonies and form complex societies. They are generally composed of three castes: the queen, the drones and the workers. Each caste has its own specific morphology and carries out specific tasks within the community.

Detailed explanation-3: -An ant colony is like a factory. Nestmates work together to convert resources (food) into products (more ants). This process is made more efficient through division of labor, where different individuals specialize on different jobs.

Detailed explanation-4: -Social insect species include all ants and termites; some wasps, bees, and ants; a few gall-forming thrips and aphids; and a bark beetle (Costa, 2006).

Detailed explanation-5: -A few species live in colonies of only a few dozen ants; however, the average ant colony contains thousands of individual ants. Smaller colonies live in natural crevices or openings while larger colonies create vast nests and forage for supplies and food.