Ant mill facts for kids

An ant mill is a strange and sad event that can happen with certain types of army ants. It's like a "death spiral" where a group of ants gets separated from their main colony. They start following each other in a never-ending circle, which eventually leads to their exhaustion and death.

What is an Ant Mill?

An ant mill forms when a small group of army ants gets separated from their main group. These ants usually follow a special scent trail, called a pheromone track, left by the ants in front of them. When they lose this main trail, they can get confused. Instead of finding their way back, they start following each other in a tight, spinning circle.

Why Do Ant Mills Form?

Ant mills are a side effect of how ant colonies are organized. This is called self-organization. It means that each ant follows very simple rules, like "follow the ant in front of you." This system works very well most of the time for finding food and moving the colony. However, if something goes wrong, like the main scent trail disappearing, these simple rules can lead to a problem. The ants keep following the ant in front, even if it means going in a circle. They don't realize they are trapped in a loop.

The Danger of the Mill

Once an ant mill forms, the ants inside it will keep marching until they run out of energy. They will die from exhaustion. It's a sad outcome for these tiny creatures, who are just trying to follow their natural instincts. People can sometimes accidentally cause an ant mill to form if they disturb an ant trail.

First Observations

One of the first people to see and describe an ant mill was a scientist named William Beebe. He observed a very large ant mill that was about 1,200 feet (366 meters) around. For the ants in this huge circle, it took each one about 2.5 hours to complete just one trip around the mill. This shows how long and tiring these circles can be for the ants.

See also

In Spanish: Espiral de la muerte (hormigas) para niños