C Curriculum Explorer
Science·Insects & Minibeasts·conceptual

Social insects: ants and bees

Social insects: how ants and bees live and work together in colonies. Queens, workers, and drones. Division of labour — some gather food, some build, some guard. Ant tunnels and bee hives as organised homes. Parallels to human teamwork.

Suggested ages 7–9

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Evidence of understanding

  • Describe at least two different roles within an ant colony or bee hive such as queen, worker, or guard
  • Explain that social insects live together in large groups and divide up the jobs needed to survive
  • Compare an ant colony or bee hive to a human team, describing how different members do different tasks

Assessment prompt

If Social insects: ants and bees watched a nature programme about ants or bees, could they tell you about the different jobs inside the colony — like the queen, the workers, and the guards?

Standards alignment

No external standards are linked to this topic.