Antzzz | Ant Comunication and Pheromones

Ants Communication

Ants are social insects, they communicate with each other by various means.
They use sound, touch, sight and especially chemical communication.

Chemical Communication

Ants have many glands that produce, store and secrete a large number of chemicals, including pheromones.

Uses of pheromones are very many. They allow males and females to mate, to called her workers, to mark the territory in search of food and even to organize the defense of the nest ...

Finally, ants from one colony share the same smell, which enables them to directly recognize friends and enemies.

Tactile communication

In most species, simple messages are transmitted by direct physical relationship, such as touching or patting.

This type of communication is used for recruitment or during the trophallaxis.

A more specific example is that of weaver ants, which vibrate their antennae on the head of the larva to produce silk.

Sound communication

Ants produce sound by 2 ways: by tapping or stridor.

The stridor is a shrill squeal due to rubbing a thin scraper, located on the adjacent surface of the abdomen. (Move over the picture to see ...)
It may signal fear, information on a food source or a request for reinforcements.

Regarding tapping, some species of ants strike the land with their heads or their jaws to signal danger.