7 Facts About Ants

Ants Leave a Trail of Chemicals for Other Ants to Follow

There is a reason for it. Rather than the ants following one another based on what they see, they do so with the help of smell. The average ant goes about moving from one place to another, based on a scent (pheromones) trail left behind by the abdomens of other ants. This is the reason we see ants moving in a queue following each other. According to a new study, the chemical pheromones produced by ants are from the microbiome in their abdomen. This discovery is from the biologists of the University of São Paulo in Brazil. The biologists found that Serratia marcescens (a type of bacteria) living in the abdomen of leafcutter ants are responsible for the pheromones.

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