Do Ants Feel Emotion?
WouterDespite their amazing abilities, scientists still don’t know whether ants feel emotion. But they do have complex functions and behaviors, and they may have similar emotions to humans.
Ants have an exoskeleton, which acts as armor. They also have a brain with 250,000 neurones. They communicate with each other through chemicals. Ants also have antennae, which they use to smell. They also carry honey back to the nest in sponges. These things make them very social creatures.
They also have nociceptors, which help them to avoid dangerous stimuli. But nociceptors don’t mean they feel pain. Rather, nociceptors allow them to avoid pain, injury, and other unpleasant things.
When ants are squished, they don’t feel pain. They may feel damage and neuropathic pain, but these are not signs that they feel emotion.
When ants are sprayed with chemicals, they will continue to function normally. Similarly, when ants fall from a high or low spot, they don’t experience pain. But they may feel irritated.
Scientists have also seen ant brains respond to painful stimuli in the same way that human brains do. They may have developed this response because of a divergence in their animal lineage. Likewise, humans and other vertebrate animals have been shown to survive traumas.
But ants don’t have the same complex brains that humans do. The ant brain is only one millionth the size of a human brain. But it has to be very efficient.
The brain’s chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, carry signals to the ant’s muscles. Ants can feel pain when they are injured, or if they’re in danger. They can also feel hunger when they smell food.
