![]() So he and his colleagues listened in to a group of Myrmica scabrinodis ants. Karsten Schönrogge, an entomologist at the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, in the United Kingdom, thought it odd that mature pupae would have the capability to produce sound but remain silent. These older pupae do have fully functional spikes but were generally thought to be silent.samples Ĭredit: Luca Casacci et al., Current Biology However, as the pupae mature, their covering hardens into a tough exoskeleton like that found in adult ants. Larvae and young pupae have soft outer skeletons, which means their specialized spikes haven't yet formed and they can't make noise. Preliminary studies seemed to indicate that this noise served primarily as an emergency beacon, allowing the ants to shout for help when being threatened by a predator. These types of ants have a specialized spike along their abdomen that they stroke with one of their hind legs, similar to dragging the teeth of a comb along the edge of a table. However, several years ago, researchers began to notice that adults in some ant genuses, such as Myrmica, which contains more than 200 diverse species found across Europe and Asia, made noise. ![]() Because this chemical communication is so prevalent and complex, researchers long believed that this was the primary way ants shared information. ![]() However, the insects also use pheromones to identify which nest an ant is from and its social status in that nest. Those behind them follow this trail, leading to long lines of ants marching one by one. Perhaps the most classic example is the trail of pheromones the insects place as they walk. Scientists have known for decades that ants use a variety of small chemicals known as pheromones to communicate. "This was a very clever piece of natural history and science." "What's very cool about this paper is that researchers have shown for the first time that pupae do, in fact, make some sort of a sound," says Phil DeVries, an entomologist at the University of New Orleans in Louisiana who was not involved in the study. A new study shows that even ant pupae-a stage between larvae and adult-can communicate via sound, and that this communication can be crucial to their survival. If you want to survive as an ant, you'd better get ready to make some noise. ![]()
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