The waggle dance of bees has been well reported, but how do ants know to gather in large numbers when one of them, presumably, has discovered a tasty morsel in my kitchen? Does it report back to the nest and organise a foraging party?
• Ants forage randomly. On their way back to the nest with food they leave a pheromone trail that other ants will randomly encounter and identify as “pointing” to a food source, according to the concentration of pheromone at each point.
The more food, the more pheromone, and the more ants will pick up the trail. It’s a fascinating and simple system they have used for millions of years. Pheromones evaporate over time, preventing areas becoming saturated and confusing. Many studies have modelled ant foraging behaviour; some are impenetrable, but others can make very interesting reading.
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Ants are generally unwelcome in the house, and the best way to prevent them coming in is to follow a homeward-bound individual to its point of entry and dowse about a square metre around the area with boiling water, followed by a small amount of anti-ant powder.
I carried out a comprehensive study of ants while at college and, although insects in general are fascinating, I think ants are the most interesting of all – especially the way they nod to each other when passing on a route, just like truck drivers do.
Tony Holkham, Boncath, Pembrokeshire, UK
• Ants communicate with one another through pheromone release. The pathfinder forager ant leaves pheromone trails from the spot where the tasty morsel is residing in your kitchen all the way back to the colony – hence it is able to organise a foraging party.
Other ants follow the pheromone trails and also reinforce it, but once all the food is consumed, they stop leaving pheromone trails and disappear from your kitchen floor.
One in five foragers are pathfinder ants that can detect previously marked pheromone paths for up to 48 hours. It would perhaps be advisable to clean your kitchen daily.