Ants, as all insects, have three body parts, head, thorax, and abdomen; they also have elbowed antennae, while termites have straight, bead-like antennae. Ants can be easily distinguished from termites by several characteristics: Ant bodies appear constricted or pinched in at the waist shaped like a figure 8, while termites do not have the waist constriction. Ants may be black, brown, red or yellow.
They are social insects that live in colonies or nests usually located in the soil near the house foundation, under concrete slabs, in crawl spaces, in structural wood, in the yard or garden, in trees and in other protected places.
They have three castes, namely queens, males and workers. Ants, like many other hymenopterans, are social insects with duties divided among different types, or castes, of adult individuals.
They also can injure plants by tunneling around the roots, causing them to dry out, they also perform many useful functions in the environment, such as feeding on other pests Ants can bite with their pincer like jaws, although most species rarely do.
They often enter buildings seeking food and water, warmth and shelter, or a refuge from dry, hot weather or flooded conditions. They may also invade kitchens, bathrooms, offices, or bedrooms. Ants may be attracted up into trees or shrubs by ripening or rotten sweet fruit or floral nectar. Ants have two stomachs one for them and one to feed others.
Ants exhibit complex behavior; some build intricate nests, some are fierce warriors, some collect and store seeds, some capture slaves, and some farm fungi. Ants can be found almost everywhere, except probably at the polar caps, but you never know there may be a species of Eskimo Ant.