Communicating is one of the activities which is very important. Apparently, it’s not just humans who need to communicate with each other. Animals also need to communicate to fulfil their activities.
Just like humans, animals need to communicate to provide information, respond to something that comes to them and even attract the attention of couple. Yes, animals need a copulation for breeding. Interestingly, Homosexual and Bisexual Between Animals; Is It Possible To Happen?
In fact, since a long time ago, the science of animal communication has been studied by scientists. Until now the science of animal communication, also known as Zoosemiotics is still learnt by scientists.
Uniquely, animals can communicate with each other not only using any sounds but also using visual action such as gestures, facial expressions, smell, eyes contact and so on. Even some animals use signals and vibrations with the certain frequencies.
One of the animals that has a unique way of communicating is the ant. Animals that are relatively small in size have a unique ability and way to communicate with each other. Well, you should know The Creepiest Ants Over The World.
How do ants communicate with each other? Here is the explanation.
Unique Facts of Ants
Have you ever seen ants walking in a line on the wall? Ants will usually pass through the same way back to their nests. The ant will leave a trail on its path of the way it does.
So, if the trail is removed, they will be very difficult to find the nest. Ants will look confused and walk randomly.
- Ant is Social Animals
Ants are one of the social animals. These small animals do not have maps or navigation tools as a guide so they cannot live alone.
Ants will live in a colony to work together in looking for diets and so on. Therefore, in colony life, ants must communicate with the others.
In fact, the ant leader will not know the way home alone without any trace left. They just follow the chemical scent that was deliberately left before leaving the nest.
- Pheromones, Chemical Communication
Well, the way the ants communicate is a unique and interesting way. Ants use chemical scents or commonly called pheromones as a communication tool with the others from the same colony.
Ants will smell the pheromones to communicate. So here are The Earth’s 8 Smelliest Animals.
Not only ants but also many other insects communicate by using pheromones. The pheromones produced by ants can be only understood by ants from the same colony.
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Pheromones will be used by ants as a communication tool including as a trail to get food sources and as a danger sign secreted when the enemy attacks.
- What is pheromone?
For your information, pheromones are one of the hydrocarbon chemical compounds used as a communication tool for insects, including ants. Pheromone comes from two words namely “fer” which means to carry and “ormon” which means hormone.
So pheromone means “hormone carrier”. Pheromones will usually be produced in special glands owned by ants.
Well, that’s why pheromones can be only used as a communication tool between ants in one colony. Ants in one colony will have the same hormone. So the ant can know the pheromones from the same colony.
Uniquely, each ant has chemical “word” vocabularies of up to 20 different pheromones that can be released to form certain scent traces.
- Pheromones to Recognize the Colony
Please note that, each ant colony has a distinctive colony odour. So they have different hydrocarbon compounds to differ from their colony and other ant colonies. You have to know that penguins live also with a colony. Here are 4 Amazing Facts About Baby Penguins.
If there are ants with a different colony odour, it will mean the ants are from other colonies. Then, the ants will be attacked by formic acid, citronellal and other toxic substances produced by ants.
However, if the ants, being from the same species but different colonies come, the ants are still accepted because it is considered as a guest. It will be fed on diet yet it is in a small quantities.
- Pheromones to Notice Any Danger
For noticing any dangers, the ants will bite something and leave this pheromone as a sign to its colony.
The tip of the antenna on the ant’s head is used to translate the aroma of the pheromone so that it can guide the ants in a line to stay away from that dangerous place.
- Pheromones to Find Diets
Pheromones are used not only as a communication of identity and danger but also to convey information about food.
When the ants find diet that is too large in size, they will ask for helping from other ants by using pheromones.
He will issue pheromones in these foods. If the number of ants is enough, they will carry it in a group to the nest.
- Artificial pheromones
Increasingly, the study of animal communication is developing and advancing. Through the development of science and technology, scientists have succeeded in finding and identifying 1600 types of pheromones in insects including ant pheromones.
Uniquely, the pheromones can already be made synthetically and used to trap insects, especially insect pests. Honestly speaking, the pheromone was especially created for communicating between ants and others.