How do ants communicate? - ProProfs Discuss
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How do ants communicate?

Asked by E. Barnes, Last updated: Apr 12, 2024

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2 Answers

R. Hunter

R. Hunter

R. Hunter
R. Hunter

Answered Jan 08, 2020

Ants, much like humans, communicate through body language. They can tell the other ants by gently touching or stroking the receiver in various ways. This process is how they combine signals of pheromones with that of touch and body language, delivering a highly sophisticated form of communication. Each colony boasts its unique scent. This distinctive smell is due to pheromones.

An example of their body language is when two ants collide, they get an intentional whiff of each other's pheromones. When they do this, they are checking to make sure they belong to the same colony. Ants are considerably good at finding intruders because of their advanced sense of smell. They lack good vision, so physical contact is how they communicate.

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B. Lazarus

B. Lazarus

B. Lazarus
B. Lazarus

Answered Jan 08, 2020

The word 'communication' does not only mean a kind of verbal interaction between two people. There are so many ways people can be talking to themselves without opening their mouths. For ants, they might have a mouth, but they can't speak. This limitation does not mean that ants don't communicate; they communicate with their mates and their environment through some special means. First, ants can communicate with their mates because they produce a particular substance in their bodies, which is known as Pheromones.

Whenever this is smelled by another ant or other ants, they know that an animal of their kind is around. They are able to do this because of the antenna which they have on their heads. They can also communicate through touching. When an ant meets a member of its colony, the manner at which the other ant reacts to the touch will show if truly the other is from their colony. Their antennas and their pheromones are two important things that they use for communication.

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