Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Original Social Network

     When you think social the first bug that comes to mind is the ant.  There are many kinds of ants that share one thing- that they work together to ensure the safety of the colony.  They use a series of chemical signals to communicate.  It is like their alphabet.  Sometimes, an ant goes out looking for food and leaves a trail of chemicals so that the colony can follow them and retrieve the food.  This continues until an obstacle gets in the way.  Then they find a new route to the food.  When the food source is depleted, they repeat the cycle.
   
     They also use chemicals to alert other ants.  When an ant is squashed, it  sends an alarm chemical to alert other ants to attack.  This chemical also makes enemies that are attacking the colony attack each other.
                                                                               
                                                                              
     Ants are also social with other insects.  They provide shelter for aphids in exchange for honeydew- a by-product of the tree sap they eat.  The ants also herd caterpillars so that they could help them find food and make honeydew.  In exchange, they provide shelter for it and give them any larvae to eat.
                                                                                 
     Not all ants are social.  Some ants, such as the bulldog ant, are solitary.  They hunt by themselves and seldom work together. 

     I think that ants are the most social creatures out there.  They work together to let the colony thrive.  They only think about the other members of the colony.  I think that if we work together like ants do, the world will be a better place. 



http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://theedublogger.com/2010/11/12/share-your-blogging-experience-and-win-big/

3 comments:

  1. I like the blog. Did you know that ants also can build bridges,homes and other structures just by linking on to each other? It is pretty cool right?

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  2. Joesph,
    I once thought that birds were the most socal with their breed but unfortunatley I was proven wrong by this post. I never knew that ants contai a chemical. The way they help their colonies trace the food is incredible! Ants are very interesting insects! Also about helping other insects so they can get the food they produce is pretty impressive. kepp up the good work and kepp blogging!

    Vedhanth

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  3. Hi Joseph, great post about the social nature of ants. What about bees? Are they as social as ants?

    And thanks also for entering the Edublogger Competition!

    Sue Waters

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