Hobbies And Interests
Communication inside the Colony
The primary means of communication lay in pheromones. Ants are highly sensitive to these excreted chemicals, which provide several different uses. Within the colony, they allow ants to understand the differences in their fellow ants within the colony. As each species of ant --- and even each colony --- has a distinctive pheromone, this allows ants to become immediately aware of intruders as well. "Alert" pheromones can be sent out, ensuring all members of the colony become aware of the colony intruder.
Communication outside the Colony
Ants --- like humans --- survive on large amounts of food. When foraging for food, ants must be able to find their way back to the colony, as well as build a "road" to the food source. As each ant emits pheromones, these trails can easily be tracked by other ants of the colony --- who will then travel back and forth between the food source and the colony. Alternatively, some ant species will kidnap other colonies' larvae, which will "imprint" the scent of the new ant colony, causing them to be dedicated to the new colony.
Castes
Although ant colonies vary, each has different "castes," or roles, for each member of the society. These castes always consist of a queen or sets of queens who are the primary reproducers and therefore become the center of attention, receiving food gathered by workers or soldiers, the other castes within most colonies.
Ant's Destiny
Each ant's destiny seems to be a mixture of nature and nurture. Ants, such as the harvester ant, create queens, as well as large and small workers. The primary determinant appears to be the size development, often determined by the amount of nutrition received. Larger workers --- like soldiers --- tend to be the older generations of most colonies; these ants are the ones that venture far out from the colony. Smaller workers and infants, on the other hand, tend to stick close to colonies, toward the center with the queen.