Understand how ants communicate, organize their colonies, and work together with perfect coordination.
Quick answer Yes, ants do drink water. They lap and suck it up through specialized mouthparts, and they also get a large share of their moisture from the food they eat, such as nectar, honeydew, and prey. But the most surprising part is what happens next: an ant doesn’t just drink for itself. It stores…
Last reviewed: June 2026. Claims in this guide are drawn from first-hand keeping and the reference and peer-reviewed sources linked inline and listed below. Quick answer Yes — some ants can genuinely swim, but most ants only float, and a few drown within seconds. Whether an ant can swim depends entirely on the species. A…
Last reviewed: June 2026. Claims in this guide are drawn from first-hand keeping and the reference and peer-reviewed sources linked inline and listed below. An ant nuptial flight is the mating flight of a colony, the event where winged reproductive ants, called alates, leave the nest to mate. On the right day, usually warm, humid,…
Last reviewed: June 2026. Claims in this guide are drawn from first-hand keeping and the peer-reviewed and reference sources linked inline and listed below. For an active infestation in your home, consult a licensed pest control professional. Water ants are not one kind of ant. “Water ants” is a catch-all people reach for to describe…
Last reviewed: June 2026. Claims in this guide are drawn from first-hand keeping and the peer-reviewed and university sources linked inline and listed below. Do ants sleep? Yes, but nothing like we do. They have no eyelids and take no single nightly block of rest. Instead they nap in hundreds of short bursts around the…
Last reviewed: June 2026. Claims in this guide are drawn from first-hand keeping and the peer-reviewed and university sources linked inline and listed below. No, ants do not truly hibernate. Hibernation is a term for mammals. Instead, temperate ant colonies enter a winter dormancy: the larvae fall into true diapause (a programmed developmental pause) while…
