How Do Ants Recognize Humans?
WouterUnlike humans, ants have evolved social recognition systems that are very efficient. In fact, ants recognize other ants in their nest, even if the other ants are from a different species.
However, there is controversy over how ants process the recognition cues they receive. Some studies suggest that ants may use a process of sensory adaptation or habituation to recognize other ants. Others suggest that the recognition cues are stored in the brain.
The brains of social insects, including ants, are tiny. They contain about 250,000 neurons, compared to about a million neurons in the human brain. But they are small enough to enable ants to have a complex social life.
The human brain appears to have declined in size over the last 10,000 years. Although ant brains are much smaller than human brains, they are still larger than those of most mammals.
The average worker ant takes 250 naps a day. In addition, ants live in a two-dimensional environment and cannot see height. They have a limited sense of smell and cannot see the three-dimensional nature of humans. However, they can communicate through the chemical signals released by other ants.
An ant’s “gestalt” organ is responsible for homogenizing recognition cues among the colony members. It is located in the ant’s mushroom body, which is similar to the vertebrate cortex.
The ant’s sensory system includes the antennae, which are part of the olfactory system. The antennae detect odors and send the information to the antennal lobe, which integrates the information and sends it to the brain.
