nature animals · Ages 6-8

The Ant Trail That Became a Living Road

Ants leave scent trails that guide nestmates to food, and the busiest paths grow stronger as more ants follow them.

The whole story

1. At sunrise, Pip stepped out of the nest with an empty leaf-bag. She wanted to bring breakfast home.

2. Beneath a clover leaf, Pip found a fallen berry, bright and sweet. It was much too big for one ant.

3. Pip nibbled off a crumb and tucked it into her bag. Then she pressed her abdomen to the soil and laid a scented path toward the nest.

4. Moss lowered their feelers to the ground. The smell pointed straight to Pip's berry, so Moss followed the trail.

5. At a patch of dry sand, the scent grew faint. Pip marked the sandy ground again while Moss waited beside the crumb.

6. The fresh trail reached the nest. One by one, more ants followed it to the berry, and each carried a crumb home.

7. The berry grew smaller, but the trail grew busier. Tiny feet pressed the same earth, and each ant added more scent.

8. By afternoon, every piece of the berry was inside the nest. Outside, Pip's thin first line had become a winding road beneath the clover.

9. Ants leave scent trails that guide nestmates to food, and the busiest paths grow stronger as more ants follow them.

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