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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.
Ants typically use trail pheromones to coordinate roles like nest defense and foraging. [6] Ants can produce a trail of defensive secretions that trigger an alarm response within their nestmates. [7] In regards to foraging, an ant can communicate the quality of a food source to its colony; the more rewarding a food source is, the higher the ...
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.
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]
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.
Trophallaxis in carpenter ants Camponotus sp.. Trophallaxis is a form of social feeding in many insects that contributes to the formation of social bonds. [5] Trophallaxis serves as a means of communication, at least in bees, like M. genalis, [16] and ants. [17]
Pharaoh ants (Monomorium pharaonis) mark trails that no longer lead to food with a repellent pheromone, which causes avoidance behaviour in ants. [22] Repellent trail markers may help ants to undertake more efficient collective exploration. [23] The army ant Eciton burchellii provides an example of using pheromones to mark and maintain foraging ...
This book is primarily aimed at academics as a reference work, detailing the ants' anatomy, physiology, social organization including their caste system, altruistic behaviour, and chemical communication with pheromones, their ecology (vital for turning the soil and controlling insect pests), and natural history. [2] [3] [4] [5]