Why Are Ants Always Moving?
WouterThousands of species of ants are found around the world. They are known to work together in creating rafts to help the colony float above water. They also produce pheromones to communicate with each other and to warn other ants of predators. They are found in the developed world, but are not found in Antarctica.
Ants have compound eyes, legs, antennae, and external teeth. They do not have internal teeth, but instead use mandibles and jaws to shape food. They also use sound to communicate and touch to communicate with each other. Some species create barely noticeable anthills on the surface.
Some species build chambers underground for food and rest. Others create massive networks of connected tunnels. Some anthills can be miles long.
The question of why are ants always moving raises questions about the division of labour between individual eusocial animals. It also raises questions about how ants’ movement behaviour is environmentally flexible.
The answer to why are ants always moving is that they use chemicals (pheromones) to communicate and to warn other ants of predators. Pheromones also affect the sequence of movement events. They can be used to predict ant movement in nests.
An analysis of ants’ movement data revealed that they use statistical physics techniques to define the ‘event’. Specifically, an activity event is defined as a sequence of non-zero speeds bounded by zero speeds. It is also noted that the average speed associated with these events is sub-linearly increased with event duration.
