Ant Anatomy Poster

A group of ants is referred to as an army. This is apt, as ants work as a unit in their colony and each can carry up to twenty times its own weight. Wouldn’t it be exciting to know how these tiny creatures pull off such wonderful feats of strength? The secret lies in their anatomy, and the “Ant Anatomy” poster will help your kid see past the thick exoskeleton that ants have for protection.

Ants don’t carry walkie-talkies around, nor do they use speech. Yet, they move around like a regiment of soldiers, following orders. How do they pull this off? The secret lies in the chemicals released by glands like Pavan’s gland and the venom gland. These chemicals, called pheromones, leave signals like “danger” and “food ahead” for other ants in the army. Let your kids use this poster to find where the glands are located. Next time they observe ants marching in your backyard, they will know why!

Apart from the plethora of glands and organs labeled, the poster also explores how ants wield such strength in a compact body. As a general rule in the animal kingdom, the relative strength of an animal wanes with an increase in size. Ants, being small and compact, can put more muscles to use in lifting heavy loads.

We know that an insect’s body is separated into a head, body, and thorax, but there lies so much more inside. An ant can fit on the tip of a finger, and yet they have a brain, stomach, alimentary canal, nervous system, and various glands.

Kids will discover the fascinating attributes of ants. All the while they will learn how teamwork can make dream work from the best team members in the animal kingdom.