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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.
Pheromone-based communication is one of the most effective ways of communication which is widely observed in nature. Pheromone is used by social insects such as bees, ants and termites; both for inter-agent and agent-swarm communications. Due to its feasibility, artificial pheromones have been adopted in multi-robot and swarm robotic systems.
Primer pheromones have a major influence on the organization of hymenopteran states formed by Hymenoptera and of termite colonies. These pheromones influence the hormonal system of the recipient; they often interfere with metabolism via a signaling cascade or activate proteins that can bind to DNA. In contrast to the releaser pheromones, the ...
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]
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.
In some countries the weaver ant is a highly prized delicacy harvested in vast amounts and in this way contribute to local socio-economics. [36] In Northeastern Thailand the price of weaver ant larvae is twice the price of good-quality beef and in a single Thai province ant larvae worth US$620,000 are harvested every year.
The Neotropical army ant Eciton burchellii has an estimated 350 to 500 animal associates, the most of any one species known to science. [31] It has been speculated that the nocturnal foraging of some army ant species is done to reduce kleptoparasitism by birds, since the bird kleptoparasites of army ants are diurnal. [12]
Physiology of eusociality in fire ants: three queen pheromones help to create and maintain the eusocial state of the colony. Loss of a primer pheromone triggers the development of replacement queens (dashed lines). [83] [84] Among ants, the queen pheromone system of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta includes both releaser and primer pheromones. A ...