Ants are mainly beneficial to our well-being. There are over 400
species of ants that inhabit North America. Some are parasitic
to other insects-including other ants, and some are plant
eaters. Many others are omnivores and feed on both plants and
flesh of vertebrates and invertebrates. Their food source may be
alive or dead. Most of the species do not cause direct harm to
humans, but a few can cause a painful sting, such as the Fire
Ant. One of the species that are found in lawns is the Little
Black Ant that makes a crater of very fine soil around their
nest opening. The life cycle of the ant consists of four stages:
egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Fertilized eggs produce female ants
(queens, workers, or soldiers); unfertilized eggs produce male
ants. Egg: Ant eggs are oval shaped and tiny (they are on the
order of 1 mm long, but the queen's egg is many times larger).
Larva: The worm-like larvae have no eyes and no legs; they eat
food regurgitated by adult ants. The larvae molt (shed their
skin) many times as t