A JOURNEY TO THE WORLD OF INSECTS COMMUNICATION(PART 1)

If two children who haven’t even learned to talk are placed side by side, you will find them playing together, laughing, touching. It seems that they can understand each other's language. Scientists also say that, "Yeah, babies can!" Thus who can't even talk, have also their own communication system. Each individual is born with a distinctive 'vocabulary' that is shared only with other members of its own species. Insects are no exception!

(Photo credit.Google)

Insect probably represent as much as 80% of the species on the planet. Luckily they are much smaller in size. Otherwise we would not have a place in the world because of them! They have many way to communicate but, unlike human, their language is almost entirely innate. Karl Von Frisch first discovered bees communication system, it was a breakthrough for which he was granted the Nobel Prize in 1973. Since then research on this sector (insects communication) gained momentum. So how about a little discussion on three familiar insects languages? Let's do it! 

ANTS

(Photo credit.Google) 

You use perfumes or scents, right? But wondrous fact is that we are using these for luxury whereas ants are using for communication. They don't have any industry to produce scents as the smell producing glands are located in their head, thorax, gaster and legs. They have lots and lots of different glands. In fact each colony carries their own unique set of pheromones making it possible to tell friend from foe.

Suppose, a intruder such as a spider is entering into the nest of ants and one ant noticed it. Now its first duty is to alarm others so it will put out an alarm pheromone from one of its specialized glands. When this warning smell will radiate out, other ants will smell, run toward and will see, "Oh my God, that's a spider!" Then they will also put out the same pheromone to warn all the ants. And it's a way of communicating, warning something happening,''Come here right now!'' 

Ants detect these pheromones using their antennaes. Instead of using nose like us they use their antennaes, the two little things sitting on top of their heads and they are far more better at smelling than a human's nose. They can easily smell things that we can't smell at all.

(Photo Credit. Google) 

I bet whenever u were a kid, you used to play with ant trail, may be sometimes u tried to stop their trail, sometimes tried to discover from where the trail started and where it ended. Actually they use pheromones to march past one after another from food source to nest. When a scout ant finds a food source it tests the food and also brings a few amount of foods within its social stomach! They have two stomachs, one holds food for itself and the other holds food for sharing! If we also have two stomachs going to a restaurant we need not parcel foods for anyone anymore! We would eat food for them, put it on the social stomach and then spew out in front of them! Out of thinking! Yuck!! 

 However on the return journey the ant leaves continuous line of scent. On its return, the scout recruits other ants by giving them a taste of food from its social stomach. After tasting if they think, "Yeah, It's yummy! " then they start following the line of scent and they also release pheromones, as a signal to other ants. The better the food source, the stronger the trail and most of species only follow their own chemical trails. We also see ants bumping their heads with each other while walking. We think may be they say each other, "Hi!","Hello!" or "Go this way!" No, actually  they do this to identify their fellow ants. When two ants collide, they smell each others pheromones. If the pheromones don't belong to the colony, the out sider ant might even be attacked.

(Photo credit.Google) 

                        

Ants also communicate through  touching, body language and sound. Workers, queens, soldiers each make their own sound.We can't  hear this unless we have some super sensitive microphones as it is very low resonated. The most amazing Information about ant is that they take powernaps and never get tired rather they can lift 5000 times its own weight!  Here's a motivation. They are ideal for u to 
"Persue Your Biggest Dream No Matter How Small You Think You Are!! "        

                                       

Link of next part : A JOURNEY TO THE WORLD OF INSECTS COMMUNICATION (PART 2)   

    

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