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Ant communication in most species involves pheromones, which is a method using chemical trails for other ants or insects to find and follow. [ 1 ] However, ants of some species can communicate without using pheromones or chemical trails in general.
Depending on the function, there are different emission and reception scenarios. Ants, for example, emit alarm pheromones intermittently or continuously in the usually windless environment of the anthill. Trace pheromones are emitted by an ant as a moving source. Silkmoth sex pheromones are emitted in discrete scent threads in an air stream. [57]
Trail pheromones are semiochemicals secreted from the body of an individual to affect the behavior of another individual receiving it. Trail pheromones often serve as a multi purpose chemical secretion that leads members of its own species towards a food source, while representing a territorial mark in the form of an allomone to organisms outside of their species. [1]
First, a single ant takes whatever crumb it finds back to its nest, but, in doing so, leaves behind a trail of pheromones that marks the path. Then, other ants follow suit, with more pheromones ...
Chemical communication within a species can be usurped by other species in chemical mimicry. The mimic produces allomones or pheromones to influence the behaviour of another insect, the dupe, to the mimic's advantage. The process is important in ant mimicry where species that do not look like ants are accepted into the ant colony.
According to Science Alert, when a group of ants loses track of the pheromone scent that lets them communicate with the leaders, they get disoriented and start following one another, forming a ...
For example, ants mark their paths with pheromones consisting of volatile hydrocarbons. Certain ants lay down an initial trail of pheromones as they return to the nest with food. This trail attracts other ants and serves as a guide. [21] As long as the food source remains available, visiting ants will continuously renew the pheromone trail.
They use special pheromones to mark scented trails for other ants to follow. With medium-sized bodies, media ants are super strong and can carry 20 times their own body weight!