Do you know how ants communicate? 🐜

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Speaker 1: You're listening to sleep Tight Science. My name is Miles and I'm from Austin, Texas.

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Speaker 2: Did you know ants never sleep?

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Speaker 1: What?

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Speaker 2: They take short rests, but don't sleep the way humans do. Hello, friends, and welcome back to sleep Tight Science, a bedtime show that answers your questions about science. In this episode, we will learn about how ants communicate. Ants are fascinating social insects that rely on many different methods to communicate with each other. With thousands or even millions of ants living together in a single colony, it's important that they can quickly share crucial information like where to find food or if there's a threat to their nest. Unlike humans, ants can't speak, so they've developed other clever ways to communicate and keep their colony running smoothly. We haven't talked about ants before, so let's start with the basics. What are ants? Ants are small insects that you've probably seen scurrying around your yard, maybe carrying crumbs or leaves back to their nest. They're part of the insect family, which means they have six legs, two antenna, and a tough outer shell called an exosks skeleton. Most ants are tiny, but don't let their size fool you. They're incredibly strong for their size, and ant can lift objects ten to fifty times its own body weight, which would be like you lifting a car. Ants are closely related to bees and wasps. They all have a narrow waist that divides their body into segments. An ant's body is made up of three parts, the head, the thorax, and the gaster, the part of the abdomen behind the waist. There are over twelve thousand species of ants. Ants come in different colors, mostly black, brown, or red, and they live in large groups called colony. A single colony can have thousands or even millions of ants working together. At the heart of each colony is a queen ant who's much bigger than the rest and is in charge of laying eggs to keep the colony growing. The other ants in the colony are called worker ants, and they have jobs like finding food, building tunnels, and protecting the nest. There are also soldier ants, whose job it is to defend the colony from predators. Ants are omnivores, which means they'll eat a bit of everything. They love sugary foods like fruit and nectar, and they also munch on proteins like insects, seeds, and even tiny bits of meat. Some ants, like leafcutter ants, are farmers. They cut up leaves and carry them back to their nests to grow fungus, which they then eat. Other ants, like army ants, are hunters. They move in huge groups, attacking insects or small animals in their path to feed the colony. Ant behavior is pretty interesting. They're social creatures, meaning they rely on teamwork to survive. Ants live in complex underground nests with tunnels, chambers, and different sections for food storage, nurseries and sleeping areas. If you've ever seen an ant colony, you know they're incredibly organized. Ants rarely act alone. They're always working together to solve problems, find food, and protect their home. That's one reason they've been so successful as a species. They've been around for over a hundred million years, even surviving alongside the dinosaurs. There are some pretty amazing ant species out there. Fire ants, for example, are known for their painful sting and fiery red color. They build massive mounds and can float on the water in groups to survive floods. Then there are the bullet ants, which have one of the most painful stings in the world. And let's not forget honey ants, which store food in their abdomens like tiny living pantries for their colonies to eat. Later, ants have a fascinating symbiotic relationship with certain plants called myrmical fyts. In this special relationship, both the ants and the plants benefit. Myrmical fyts, also known as ant plants, provide ants with food, shelter, or both. Some of these plants even grow special structures like hollow thorns or stems where ants can live safely. In return, the ants act like tiny bodyguards, protecting the plants from pests and herbivores that might want to eat them. They can also remove harmful fungi or clear away competing plants from around their home. But how do these busy, tiny creatures manage to stay so organized communication You've probably noticed that ants seem to move in sync, as if they're following some invisible plan. Well, they are. Ants have a fascinating way of talking to each other, using signals that help them share information from finding food to alerting their friends about danger. In the next part, we're going to learn about the five ways ants communicate and discover just how smart these insects really are. Did you know that there are several wasp species that closely resemble ants, including the velvet ant, which is actually a hairy, wingless wasp. Ants are social insects that live in large, well organized colonies. With so many ants working together, communication is key to keeping things running smoothly, but ants don't speak like we do. Instead, they use signals and behaviors to share vital information, such as where food is located, how to protect the colony, or warning others about danger. Ants have developed several clever ways to talk to each other, helping their colonies thrive. Ants communicate in five main ways. The first is pheromones, where ants release special chemicals to leave scent trails, find food, or worn of danger. Another method is antennae touching, where ants tap each other's antennae to share information, such as confirming if they are from the same colony. Vibrations are also used by some ants, who create signals by tapping or rubbing their bellies when there's a threat. Ants can also communicate by releasing alarm pheromones to alert the colony of danger. Lastly, ants use trail marking by laying down scent trails to guide others to food sources. Let's learn about the first and most important method, pheromones. Pheromones are chemical signals that ants release to send messages to their fellow colony members. These chemicals can convey all sorts of information, and ants use them for various purposes. For excit, when a worker ant finds food, it leaves a trail of pheromones on the ground as it returns to the nest. Other ants detect this scent with their sensitive antenna and follow the trail to food. The more ants that find the food, the stronger the trail becomes, and soon a whole line of ants is heading back and forth between the nest and the food source. It's like an ant highway made of invisible scent signals. But food isn't the only thing ants use pheromones for. They also release different types of pheromones to signal danger. If an ant senses a predator or a threat to a colony, it will release alarm pheromones, alerting other ants to this danger. This helps the colony quickly respond to threats by sending soldiers or avoiding dangerous areas. In addition to food and danger ants use pheromones for organizing their work. They may release different pheromones to mark territory, guide lost ants back to the colony, or even communicate between different jobs like foraging, guarding, or building. It's like an invisible messaging system that keeps the colony functioning smoothly without a word being spoken. Up Next is antenna touching. Ants rely heavily on their antenna to gather and share information. When two ants meet, they often engage in antenna touching, a process where they tap or rub their antenna together. This isn't just a friendly greeting, it's actually how ants exchange important information. Through antenna touching, ants can recognize whether the other ant is from the same colony, find out what tasks need to be done, or even detect if the other ant has found food. Antenna are packed with sensors, making them highly sensitive to chemical signals and vibrations. It's like the ants are talking through touch, using their antenna as tools to gather details about their surroundings and each other. Ants also communicate through vibrations third on our list, which can be especially useful when they are underground or inside their nests. Some ants create vibrations by tapping their bodies against surfaces like the ground or tunnels, or by rubbing parts of their body together. These vibrations travel through the environment and can be sensed by other ants nearby. Vibrations are often used to send distress signals or call for help. For example, if an ant is trapped or in danger, it may create vibrations to alert others to come to its aid. These vibrations can also be used as a form of coordination, helping the colonies stay organized during activities like digging or foraging. It's a subtle but effective way for ants to send messages without relying on scent or touch. Fourth on our list of the ways ants communicate is alarm signals. When ants sense danger, they send out alarm to warn the rest of the colony. One of the main ways they do this is by releasing alarm pheromones, special chemicals that quickly spread the message of danger. When an ant detects a threat, like a predator or an attack on the nest, it releases these pheromones into the air. Other ants pick up the scent with their sensitive antennae, which triggers them to spring into action. These alarm pheromones can cause different reactions depending on the situation. In some cases, it might signal the worker ants to retreat or hide. In other situations, it alerts soldier ants to gather and defend the nest. This quick response helps the colony stay safe by organizing the ants efficiently and making sure they all know what's happening. It's like a built in alarm system for the entire colony, and it ensures that even without words, the ants can protect themselves from threats in an instant. Finally, there is trail marking. Ants use trail marking to guide others to important locations, like food sources or back to the nest. This is done by leaving a trail of pheromones as they move. When a worker ant finds food, it will leave a pheromone trail along the path it takes to return to the colony. Other ants detect the trail with their antenna and follow it, reinforcing the path by adding more pheromones as they walk. The stronger the scent, the more ants will join in, creating a busy ant highway. Trail Marking helps ants find their way even in complicated environments, allowing the whole colony to work together efficiently over time. If a food source is used up, the pheromone trail will fade and the ants will stop following it. This process ensures that ants are always communicating where resources are and when it's time to move on. It's a brilliant way of organizing their foraging efforts. Ants may be small, but their methods of communication are nothing short of incredible. They rely on these five key ways to talk to each other. Pheromones to leave trails and send messages about food or danger, Antenna touching to exchange information through direct contact, vibrations to signal, distress or coordinate activities, alarm signals to warn the colony of threats, and trailmarking to guide each other to important locations. These clever communication techniques help ants work together in large, busy colonies, showing just how organized and intelligent these tiny insects are. Did you know that ants communicate with other insects species. One of the interesting things we discovered as we were reading all about ants is that they can sometimes communicate with other insects species, but not in the same detailed way they communicate with the ether each other. Instead of using their usual methods like pheromones or intenna touching. Ants interact with other insects through more basic forms of communication, often for mutual benefit. For example, some species of ants form mutualistic or dependent relationships with other insects like aphids. Ants farm aphids by protecting them from predators, and in return, the ants get to collect a sweet substance called honeydew that the aphids produce. While ants don't talk to aphids like they do with each other, they use touch to herd the aphids and keep them in line, almost like little farmers taking care of their livestocks. In some cases, ants also communicate with other insects, like caterpillars or beetles, by using chemical signals. Certain species of caterpillars produce chemicals that trick ants into thinking they're part of the colony, allowing them to get protection from predators. In this episode, we explored the fascinating world of ants and learned about their impressive communication skills and unique behaviors. We discovered that ants communicate through pheromones, antenna touching, vibrations, alarm signals, and trailmarking to share important information like finding food or warning of danger. We also covered cool facts like how ants can lift up to fifty times their weight, work together as farmers with other insects, and even live in colonies with millions of members. Ants may be tiny, but they are highly organized and communicate in amazing ways to keep their colonies thriving. Thank you to Miles from Austin, Texas who introduced our show. You were super awesome. Thank you to Coco from Beaverton, Oregon. Lindsay Dolph Jackson who is six years old, five year old Ryland from Kitchener, Ontario, Rory Kinman who is five years old and lives in London, England. Laura Garcia Connor Frey who is seven years old and Elizabeth Fray who is five years old from San Anselmo, California. Bellamy Elliott from Saint Albert, Alberta, Canada, Lucy who is five, Quentin who is five years old and from Australia, and Lacy Ugainich from Alberta, Canada. We would love to hear from you. Ask your parents to help you. Write us a note to the email address in our show notes. You can also visit our web page and send a message that way. Also be sure to leave us a rating or a comment. Wherever you listen to our podcast, we'd love to get your feedback. If you want to make sure you get all the episodes, please ask your parents to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or all the other cool ways you can follow us. If you'd like to send us your questions, please send them to hello at sleep tightscience dot com. Did you know that when you sleep, your brain can go on all kinds of adventures. You might even dream about some of the cool science stuff we talked about. You could fly through space, visit other planets, shrink to see tiny atoms, or even invent something amazing. Your dreams can take you anywhere, and who knows, maybe tonight you'll dream about discovering something new and exciting in the world of science. Good Night, sleep tight