Why Ants live in colonies?

[spykids2007]

Sir/Madam,
I am student who studies in grade 9.This is my first time doing a science fair ,because i came to U.S.A in this year.I was living in India and I am an Indian citizen.I am doing a science fair this year.Unfortunately I selected a hard topic.My topic is WHY ANTS LIVE IN COLONIES?I searched everywhere on internet.But I am not getting a right answer.Will u please help me on this project?Now only i realized that how worthy a science fair is!My due date is on February 16th -19th.Hope you will find me a solution soon.
Thank You
KARAN

[michellebayefsky]

Dear Karan,

You have chosen an interesting topic. I believe that it may help you to modify your question somewhat. Ants live in colonies because it is beneficial for them and because they are social creatures that thrive with the support of fellow ants. A question you may ask is "How is living in an ant colony beneficial for ants?" Here are a few websites that can help you answer that question:

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/insects/ant-info3.htm
http://www.pnas.org/content/95/24/14232.abstract - talks about a genetic basis for the social hierarchy
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:XpT ... cd=1&gl=us
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/f ... 63b?ck=nck

Good Luck!
Michelle