How do ants find food?
Ants find food mainly by scouting and following scent trails. When a scout finds food, it lays down chemical signals called pheromones on the way back, guiding other ants to the source.
Scout ants wander in search of food. When they find some, they carry a piece back to the nest while leaving a pheromone trail from glands in their abdomen. Other ants follow the trail, and if they find food too, they reinforce it with more pheromone. Over time, the shortest, most useful paths become the strongest trails.
When the food runs out, ants stop adding pheromone, and the trail slowly fades. Ants also use their antennae to smell and touch, and some species navigate using the Sun's position, landmarks and even counting their steps. Desert ants can find their way back to the nest in a straight line after long, wandering searches.
Teamwork
Ant colonies work like a superorganism, with thousands or millions of ants cooperating. Some ants carry large food items together. Scientists have used ant behavior to design computer programs, called ant colony optimization, that find efficient routes.
Did You Know?
Leafcutter ants do not eat the leaves they carry. They use them to grow a fungus garden, which feeds the colony.