ANTS

1. Black Carpenter Ant
2. Pavement Ant
3. Little Black Ant
4. Odorous House Ant
5. Thief Ant

Colours of ants can range from black, red, brown, and tan. Ants are divided into three body segments: head, thorax, abdomen. Ants have one or two segmented petioles (thin structures that join thorax and abdomen together) to form the pedicel. Some ants will have one petiole while others can have two. Their length can range between 1.5 mm and 13 mm long and all have mandibulate mouth parts, or paired "jaws" of an insect. All of them possess antennae that are its sensory organs of touch and smell. Specifically, in worker ants and queens, the antenna appear in a pronounced elbowed appearance, roughly angled at 120°. Male antenna are seldom elbowed. If winged, anterior pair of wings are noticeably larger than posterior. All castes of ants have compound eyes, positioned on either side of head to grant a panoramic view. Queens, males, and workers of specific species have additional simple eyes, based near the centre top of the head to detect light and shadow.

Ants are commonly confused with termites so it is crucial to be able to differentiate between the two:

1. Female ant antennas appear elbowed while termites are straight.
2. Waists of ants are thin while termites are thick.
3. The wings of ants are, in size, unequal while termites are equal.

COLONIES:

Ants are social insects that live in large colonies with a one queen (or more depending on species), females, drones, and worker, and soldiers ants that establish a colony that reach up to hundreds of thousands of ants. Some colonies burrow themselves in the soil while others seek refuge in wood. 

The queen is protected and is the heart of the colony so most likely in an infestation, she will not be seen, but her workers that she communicates with via pheromones, will be. The queen's job is to lay the eggs and is winged until after the mating flight where she will shed her wings before laying the eggs. Males are winged but die shortly after mating. Workers have no wings and are infertile females. Soldier ants are simply modified workers that possess larger heads and stronger, thicker, and longer mandibles for defending the colony.

The main cause of infestations are usually because of worker ants. The worker's jobs are to search for food and bring it back to the colony. Stray food left out in the home can attract worker ants while they are searching and thus lead to an infestation. 

DIET:

Ants are attracted to foods reach is sucrose, grease, and meat.

LIFECYCLE:

Establishing a colony is an ant's main purpose of living and it can be done several ways. In some species, the new queen is to remain in the nest and grow the parent colony while in more common cases, winged males and females leave the nests to congregate every year, most likely at the same location. This is called the mating flight and can be triggered by weather cues. Once they are there they will either create a swarm on the ground like harvester ants do or meet in the air like fire ants.

An ant's lifecycle begins with the queen laying her eggs post mating flight when she loses her wings and either lays her many eggs in the soil or wood. Not all will hatch as some will be consumed by her or the developing larvae that will hatch in one or two weeks after being laid.

The first worker ants emerge and begin expanding the nest and foraging for food while the queen keeps laying eggs, and soon a large colony is built. This process can take up to two years or more.

Some ant species have worker ants that can live up to between nine to ten weeks while workers of other species can live up to six years. The queen can live up to thirty years, constantly laying eggs.

The mandibles of ants are used for lifting objects and chewing solid food, with some species having enough strength to  break human skin, but not many. Some will bite if provoked like the Black Carpenter Ant while others can inject acid into wounds to inflict pain such as the Fire Ant.

Ants are not naturally violent but can be when faced with certain pheromones or if they feel threatened, but the majority of ant species found in Canada rarely bite humans.

Ants, in nature, are a crucial part in maintaining balance with nutrient recycling, decomposition, and hunting other pests, but when an exotic, invasive species is established the results can be detrimental. They can disturb the ecosystem by taking out the main predator or over-eating the prey. They can damage lawns and properties, eat through insulation, wood, cables, and wreak havoc indoors. Ants can pose a threat to agriculture as they can consume and infect the crops. And finally, Ants can pose as a threat directly to humans with dangerous diseases and the possibility of inflicting painful stings.

Ants social behaviour and habit of establishing colonies in highly populated areas make them one of the most invasive species in terms of pest control in Canada.

Ants can find their ways into homes through open cracks, small gaps, or small and seemingly harmless entryways into the home. Oily, greasy, or sugary food left out can draw ants in, leading in contamination of entire pantries and food reserves. Travelling in colonies and communicating via pheromones can pose a threat to humans because once a passageway into your home is confirmed by worker ants, the scent trail marked by the workers can be followed again when the need for food arises again.

Storing food in air-tight containers, cleaning up thoroughly after meals, rinsing out recyclables, and generally keeping your home clean and tidy by sweeping and dusting regularly, as well as performing house maintenance such as sealing cracks, and keeping windows and doors sealed tightly will all assist in the prevention of infestation in your home.