They were ready to sneak out before dawn. Then someone stepped out of the shadows. She already knew everything.

In this episode, the colony healer Silke Greer reveals she overheard their plans — and instead of stopping them, she helps. She teaches Cinder, Blaze, and Thistle how to mask their scent from predators, how to find water in the dry terrain, and how to approach Moss Wren, the territorial spider that guards the path west. Then she makes them promise to return in five days. At dawn, three young fire ants slip through the maintenance tunnel and emerge into the outside world for the first time.

Colony in Danger is a serialized adventure audiobook for boys ages 8–14 and families.

Start from Episode 1. New episodes weekly.

📖 Buy the full Colony in Danger Part 1 audiobook: Coming Soon!
📧 Free Ant Codex field reports: https://compass-codex.kit.com/ant-codex-subscribe

Silke Greer was once adventurous too. She shares the knowledge she gained collecting medicinal herbs beyond the colony boundary — scent-masking herb bundles, water sources, the territorial spider Moss Wren. She gives Thistle a salve for emergencies. The scent-masking behavior in this episode is based on real chemical defense mechanisms used by fire ants when navigating foreign territory. This homeschool audiobook and reluctant reader series is built on accurate fire ant biology.

Question: What’s the first thing you’d do if you emerged from underground for the first time?

Send us Fan Mail

I am the author of serialized fiction books for kids, teens, tweens and young adults, including:

- Brickhaven: A Bricks Fan Fiction Adventure

- Colony In Danger: A Fire Ant Adventure

- Eagle's Edge: A Story of Rome, Gaul and the Making of a Soldier

- Treasure Island: A Classic Adaptation

- Iron Rails & Ruin: A Novel of Steam, Sorcery and the Lawless Montana Territory

📚 All five books -- are now available on Amazon: https://us.amazon.com/stores/Reed-Sterling/author/B0H2ZM86WQ

📖 Wanna check out all five series for yourself? Get all five Chapter 1s free: https://compass-codex.kit.com/middle-school-reader-group

Thank you for listening! This is Reed Sterling. Remember: Never stop exploring unknown worlds.