Book 1, Question 49
Why Do Ants Follow a Trail? A Secret Scent Path!
When an ant finds food, she lays down a scent trail to tell her sisters. The other ants follow the pheromones, the chemical scent, straight to the food. When the food is gone, the trail fades and the path disappears. The page says some ant trails can be a hundred meters long, about the length of a soccer field. You can watch a trail outdoors and drop a leaf in the way to see what happens, but do not crush any ants.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 1
More fun facts
- Scientists think there are about 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. That is about 2.5 million ants for every person.
- More than 12,000 kinds of ants are known, and some experts think there could be 20,000.
- Ants live almost everywhere except Antarctica, Iceland, Greenland, and a few island nations.
- Ant colonies work together so well that scientists call them superorganisms.
- Ants do not only use smells. Some ants also talk with very tiny sounds.
- Scientists tested a way to stop invasive Argentine ants in Hawaii by spreading extra trail scent. Too much scent confused the ants and broke up their trails for a while.
Sources: National Geographic, BBC, U.S. Geological Survey
Questions kids ask
How many ants are on Earth?
Scientists estimate about 20 quadrillion, around 2.5 million for every person.
Do ants only talk with smells?
Smells are a big part, but some ants also make very tiny sounds to communicate.