A Wonderleaf question
Why do ants walk in lines?
a real page from the book
Ants walk in lines because a successful forager leaves a pheromone trail on the ground as she returns to the nest. Other ants smell that chemical path with their antennae, follow it to food, and add more scent on their own way back.
The clever part is that no ant needs to be in charge. A good route gets stronger each time it is used, while an empty route fades as the scent disappears. Your child is seeing a tiny traffic system built by many simple choices.
Wonder words
- pheromone
- antennae
- forager
- colony
Try it out
Put a crumb outside near ants and watch from a distance to see whether a line slowly forms.
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Watercolour scenes, straight answers, about three minutes cover to cover.
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