My neighbor just dumped boiling water on an ant’s nest. Would the ants – at their noise level, of course – cry out in pain now? Or assuming they don’t feel pain, do they make noise anyway?
Answer
Dear Dominique,
some ant species are apparently capable of producing sounds; other species do not. The species that can produce sound have a special sound organ, this is the stridulation apparatus. This matter has been explored by many researchers in the past, and opinions have often been divided. Those who argued that ants could not produce sounds worked in their study with ant species that did not have a stridulation apparatus. Much more explanation can be found in the following publication: http://users.telenet.be/Atalantavzw/archief%202000/MIEREN Geluiden.pdf
kind regards,
Hans
Answered by
Hans Castels
identification of insect pests in agriculture and horticulture, stock goods and homes
Burg. van Gansberghelaan 96 box 1 9820 Merelbeke
http://www.ilvo.vlaanderen.be
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