"You probably know the big mounds of the forest ants - the anthills. Such an anthill is often more than a meter high and has a circumference of four meters and more. To create the mound, the animals collect fallen pine needles and pieces of wood, along with small parts of the plant And also earth. The "living area" of the ants is about twice as big as the anthill you can see. The nest goes at least as deep into the earth.
It is estimated that between 100,000 and a million animals live together in the forest ant's nest. In each of these "kingdoms" live several queens who are only busy laying eggs and thus constantly providing for offspring.
The bulk of an ant colony is made up of workers. These do all the tasks in the nest, from rearing the brood to hunting and defense to nest building. There are soldiers who defend the nest, field ants who bring in the food, and nurse ants who take care of the rearing of the larvae and pupae.
Ants communicate through touch and twenty different smells. Ants create so-called ant trails from their burrow to the food sources, which are marked by scents.
Inside the anthill, things are not mixed up as one might think. Everything is precisely organized. The queens have their chambers in the middle of the hill. The rooms for eggs, larvae and pupae are strictly separated. The nest entrances are closed when it rains or gets cold. "
Source: tier-kids.de/ameisenhaufen.html