SSC Selection Post - Graduation Level 2020 - 9 Nov 2020 - Shift 2

An important reason for ants’ success is their ability to talk — not with words but with tastes
and smells. Their vocabulary is made up of a mixture of substances they produce in various
parts of their bodies and emit via their glands. The so-called pheromones are signals that
other ants can smell and taste. The messages they communicate set off a specific kind of
behaviour in the messengers - fetching food, for instance, or looking after the brood, or
feeding the queen. Furthermore, ant talk is not limited to food. Ants use a hundred different
scents to communicate a hundred different messages. With such a sophisticated array of
messenger fragrances, ants organize complicated tasks with close to perfect efficiency.
Every ant is a specialist with a vocation of its own. The queen has one of the biggest
workloads - laying eggs round the clock. Despite the presence of a queen, an ant colony is not
a monarchy. The word ‘queen’ is actually is a misnomer. She does not reign over others, she is
a machine for laying eggs. From morning till night she produces her daughters, the sterile
workers of her colony. Males do not have to do much and the queen only produces them
when reproduction time is approaching. Their main job is to fertilize the winged females after
which they die.
Messengers do not have much free time either. When you see a handful of ants scurrying
around in the kitchen without any apparent purpose, it does not mean they have lost their
bearings. They are scouts foraging for food. Once they have found something edible, they
report back to the base, depositing their chemical spores on the way. “Food located, please
collect,” is the taste and smell message for the other members back at the nest.