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with food to take back home. When they meet their sisters on the
trail, they stop and have a little conversation that goes something
like this:
School of Ants Map - Eastern Black Carpenter Ant
Ant heading out to food: “Hey, what’s up?”
Ant returning from food: “Are we from the same nest?” (They do
this by tapping each other on the head with their antennae to see
if they smell alike.)
Headed-out ant: “Yeah, but I’m not sure what I’m even doing
here. I’m just following this trail.” (She moves her tapping
antennae closer to her sister’s mouth.)
Returning ant: “Oh, wow! I should have told you earlier. Some kid
spilled his Dr. Pepper down the street and it is DELICIOUS.
Everybody’s over there now drinking it up. Want to try?”
Headed-out ant: “That sounds awesome. Of course.”
Returning ant spits a little droplet from her crop into headed-out
ant’s mouth. Headed-out ant drinks it and agrees it is awesome.
Awesome enough, in fact, to continue running down the trail.
North American distribution of the eastern black carpenter ant. Visit
www.schoolofants.org/species/1166 for an interactive version.
When I was a child, I saw black carpenter ants having these sorts
of conversations all the time and thought they were kissing. When
I grew up, I learned that I already knew much about black
carpenter ants from watching them as a child. Their colony size,
where they nest, and how they eat are all scientifically dissected
and explored as thoroughly as the ants themselves explore the
dark tunnels of their homes. Scientific papers explain how they
talk to each other, when they’re awake, and why they don’t want
bologna on hot summer afternoons. Every delicate golden hair on
the black carpenter ant’s rump has been counted and
catalogued. These discoveries took many decades to document.
All of them can be made any morning by each one of us, holding
our breakfast crumbs, waiting patiently in our front yards.
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