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Morning Start: did you know ants build their own gardens?

Your morning start for Thursday, March 5, 2020
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(Natalia Cuevas-Huaico - Kelowna Capital News)

Do you have ants in your plants? If so, you might be curious to know what they’re up to.

Fun Fact of the day:

Some leaf-cutting ant species in Central and South America maintain their food supply by forming a symbiotic relationship with certain fungi. Worker ants search for leaves and bring them to the nest, where they’re cut into small pieces. Mixing these crushed leaves with their saliva, they then add small bits of fungus tissue to the mixture inside a designated chamber in the nest. The fungus produces filaments which are harvested and fed to larval ants, or eaten by adults.

With that, the ants cultivate their own food source, and as soon as one garden is too full of fungi it’s time to build another!

Weather forecast according to Environment Canada:

A mix of sun and cloud is expected for the Okanagan, with temperatures around 12 degrees. If you’re in Salmon Arm, however, you can expect a 70 per cent chance of snow or rain early this morning.

In Kelowna:

In Vernon:

In Penticton:

In Salmon Arm:

In case you missed it:

A moose was rescued by B.C. Conservation Officers after falling through some ice near Fort St. John on Wednesday.

Video of the day:

Summer is on its way; are you as ready for the heat as this little guy?

READ MORE: Five arrested after refusing to leave BC Legislature building



Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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