Why Do Ants Make Noise When They Die?
WouterSeveral species of ants make stridulatory sounds when they move. The sound is produced by the abdominal area and the legs rubbing. The stridulation mechanism also occurs in crickets, grasshoppers, sea animals, and katydids.
Stridulation is a type of high-pitched rasping sound. It may have evolved several times in ants. Some ants use this sound for communication. Others make chirping sounds.
Scientists have found that ants produce different insect calls depending on the situation. When a caterpillar is picked up by a roving ant, it will make sounds. The ants will then tuck the caterpillar into its brood chamber.
In the case of army ants, a pheromone track helps them follow each other. If the pheromone track is lost, the ants will form a continuously rotating circle. Once exhaustion sets in, the ants will die.
In some cases, ants produce a chemical signal to indicate to other ants that they are dead. This chemical signal is known as an ant gaster. The gaster is a series of segments that reminds one of a nested telescope. It is made of well-aligned tegument ridges.
The ant gaster is made up of curved ridges on the petiole. In order to be detected, the sound source must be very small, but it must also be very high-pitched. The sound must be in the first few centimeters of emission. This means that the sound source has to be only a few inches high.
The researchers are trying to figure out how to make a small, ant-size sound source. They’ve tried to use a long funnel that compresses the sound waves. Then, the sound is guided to a pinhole opening.
