Printable version Email this to a friend
Seirian Sumner
What is an entomologist?
An entomologist is a person who studies insects.
Which sorts of insects live in groups?
Different insects such as bees, wasps and ants live in groups. They are social insects and belong to the group hymenoptera.
What are the characteristics of hymenoptera?
They have six legs and two pairs of wings.
What is another characteristic of a hymenoptera?
Bees and wasps sting and deliver venom.
Why are these sorts of insects everywhere and why are they always so many of them?
This is due to teamwork. They divide their tasks up between them. This is known as division of labour within a family group. There are different types of ants/bees/wasps in a colony such as workers and the Queen. The workers can’t leg eggs, but the Queen can.
Why can’t the workers lay eggs?
They have evolved to lose their ovaries over time. Some wasps are much better at foraging than laying eggs, and these are the workers.
What do bees, wasps, and ants eat?
Ants each fruit. Bees eat flowers (pollen). Wasps kill and eat other insects.
Do wasps make honey?
Some wasps do but not nearly in the quantity that bees do.
How long do ants live for?
It depends upon the species. Worker ants generally only live 2-3 weeks. A Queen ant can live up to 70 years.
Do ants bite?
Some ants bite. Other ants sting.
When you have ants in your house, what damage could they do?
They could eat your house plants.
How do ants get wings?
They grow them. Only males and new queens get wings. These they use to make new colonies. They fly off and land whereby the males die. The females shed their wings and then bury in the ground and make a new nest. The small winged ants are male. The big winged ants are female.
