2006-09-19 00:26:07 · 14 answers · asked by Ty W 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
Ant communication is accomplished primarily through chemicals called pheromones. Because most ants spend their time in direct contact with the ground, these chemical messages are more developed than in other Hymenopterans. So for instance, when a forager finds food, she will leave a pheromone trail along the ground on her way home. Home is typically located through the use of remembered landmarks and the position of the sun as detected with compound eyes and also by means of special sky polarization-detecting fibers within the eyes.
In a short time other ants will follow this pheromone trail. Returning home, they reinforce this same trail which in turn attracts more ants until the food is exhausted, after which the trail is no longer reinforced and so slowly dissipates.
This elementary behavior explains how ants adapt to changes in their environment. When an established path to a food source is blocked by a new obstacle, the foragers leave the path to explore new routes. If successful, the returning ant leaves a new trail marking the shortest route. Since each ant prefers to follow a path richer in pheromone rather than poorer, the resulting route is also the shortest available.
Ants make use of pheromones for other purposes as well. A crushed ant, for example, will emit an alarm pheromone which in high concentration sends nearby ants into an attack frenzy; and in lower concentration, merely attracts them. To confuse their enemies, several ant species even use what are termed propaganda pheromones.
Like other insects, ants smell with their antennae, which are long and thin. These are fairly mobile, having a distinct elbow joint after an elongated first segment; and since they come in pairs--rather like binocular vision or stereophonic sound equipment--they provide information about direction as well as intensity. Pheromones are also exchanged as compounds mixed with food and passed in trophallaxis, giving the ants information about one another's health and nutrition. Ants can also detect what task group (e.g. foraging or nest maintenance) to which other ants belong. Of special note, the queen produces a certain pheromone without which the workers would begin raising new queens.
Ants attack and defend themselves by biting and in many species, stinging, often injecting chemicals like formic acid.
While many types of animals can learn behaviors by imitating other animals, ants may be the only group of animals besides primates and some other mammals in which interactive teaching behavior has been observed. Knowledgeable forager ants of the species Temnothorax albipennis directly lead naive nest-mates to newly discovered food sources by the excruciatingly slow (and time-costly) process of "tandem running". The follower thereby obtains knowledge that it would not have, had it not been tutored, and this is at the expense of its nest-mate teacher. Both leader and follower are acutely sensitive to the progress of their partner. For example, the leader slows down when the follower lags too far behind, and speeds up when the follower gets too close, while the follower does the opposite
2006-09-19 02:29:46 · answer #1 · answered by Mye 4 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Ants wander about in search of food then make efficient ant trails for others to follow when they find something. If you draw a circle with your finger including a section of trail you can see their momentary confusion until they find the trail again.
2006-09-19 09:06:12 · answer #2 · answered by Kes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They follow a scent trail
2006-09-19 07:34:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are following a scent that guides them to the food and back
2006-09-19 16:45:13 · answer #4 · answered by spyblitz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
these insects can secrete a chemical substance called pheromones.so the members can follow with the help of this pheromones.
2006-09-22 07:30:07 · answer #5 · answered by sniperflywheels 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
they are probably carrying food back to their nests or looking for it & they work in teams following the scent trails
2006-09-19 07:40:56 · answer #6 · answered by ausblue 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Same reason people follow people
2006-09-19 07:28:26 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
they follow a scent trail
2006-09-19 07:27:02 · answer #8 · answered by kpinette 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
most insects are blind so they follow scent trails...try erasing the trail and they'll lose their way. also, remove their receptors and they'll be goin crazy
2006-09-19 08:12:05 · answer #9 · answered by enlightened_osiris 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They leave pheromone trails that indicate what they should do.
2006-09-19 07:28:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋