Can Ants Recognize Theirself in Mirrors?
WouterWhether an animal can recognize itself in mirrors depends on the species’ level of self-awareness. Unlike humans, animals who fail this test may not recognize their own reflections as “self,” or may react aggressively to them. They may also react affectionately to them, believing the reflection to be another animal.
There are many animals that fail the mirror test, but some species do pass. The classic mirror test requires that an animal have markings on its body, such as a mark on its rays, to be able to see it in the mirror.
Ants can pass this test. They move slowly when they are in front of the mirror, groom themselves, and shake their antennae. Several ants, including one whose face was dotted with blue, retreated from the mirror after several encounters. Unlike the blue-dotted ant, the other ants did not believe the reflection was another ant. Instead, they viewed it as a foreign species.
The mirror test has been replicated in many species, including chimpanzees, elephants, dolphins, gorillas, and macaques. It is possible that future studies will investigate how well these species understand the mirror, and how well they communicate with it. It will also be interesting to compare their responses to the mirror with their responses to other conspecifics, including humans and familiar animals. It is possible that future studies will include measures of self-awareness as well.
In other studies, animals have been found to recognize themselves earlier in life than humans. Some animals, including bottle-nosed dolphins, recognize themselves before they are even born.
