Have you ever imagined how ants find their way to the food you left your kitchen or on the patio? Sometimes you can even find them inside a closed boat! Finding their way indoors is an easy task for these insects. Let’s see how they do it and if there’s any way to prevent an ant invasion.
Imagine a colony of ants in search of food. If we observe them, we will notice that the ants draw a straight line between the nest and the food. A line of black ants moving in a straight line across a field is a common image that we take for granted. However, it is a testament to its great ability to forage for food.
Pheromone trails
Ants look for food by walking randomly and following the strong odors it detectsdo not. Their strategy is similar to human exploitation, as the ants search for food individually. As an ant searches for food, often up to 100 to 200 meters from the anthill, leaves a trail of pheromones. Later he will help you find your way back home.
When an ant finds food, can go its own way back to the nest. On the way back, the worker releases more pheromones, creating an even stronger scent trail. When the other ants find a pheromone trail, they give up their own search and start following that trail. If you lead them back to the nest they will turn around and continue to forage in the other direction. Once the ant gets to the food, it takes a piece and follows the same path to the anthill. On the way back, the ant reinforces the trail by releasing more pheromones.
The glomeruli lead the line
Anyway, it’s hard to understand how a scout ant randomly finds your kitchen and then gets into the sugar or honey pot. Basically, all the food they find is detected by their smell. Products containing sugar, for example, have a slight odor (especially granulated sugar and honey).
The antennae on the ants’ heads, about the size of a hair, contain sensory neurons. It is a complex biological process, but what is most interesting is that the ants they have about 420-430 active materials called glomeruli; even more than bees, which only have 160! This high concentration of glomeruli allows ants to process a wide range of odors.
Their developed sense of smell, their strategic way of looking for food and the place to build their anthill, allow the colony to be perfectly organized, which makes them practically indestructible if homemade methods are used. To get rid of garden or kitchen ants, you should resort to professional remedies developed based on the location and species of ant, such as Instant Cucal.