Humans are not the only animals that (in many cases) are attracted by the smell of coffee. This study focuses on ants’ attraction to coffee smells: “Olfactory behavior and response of household ants (Hymenoptera) to different types of coffee odor: A coffee-based bait development prospect,” Abdul Hafiz Ab Majid, Hamady Dieng, Siti Salbiah Ellias, Faezah […]
Tag: ants
How Crazy Ants Deal with Legos
Ants are better than many humans suspect at dealing with Legos. This newly published study explains: “Collective strategy for obstacle navigation during cooperative transport by ants,” Helen F. McCreery, Zachary A. Dix, Michael D. Breed, Radhika Nagpal, Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 219, 2016, pp. 3366-3375. The authors, at the University of Colorado and Harvard […]
“Imagine if the window were made of ants…”
Ig Nobel Prize winner David Hu researches many questions that involve biology AND mathematics AND physics. And often, fluid dynamics. In this video, he confides, concisely, some of the biophysical ways that ants survive perilous, quickly-changing physical conditions: The 2015 Ig Nobel Prize for physics was awarded to Patricia Yang [USA and TAIWAN], David Hu [USA and TAIWAN], and […]
The True Odor of the Odorous House Ant
Although many species of frog have been scientifically classified by smell (a feat honored by the 2005 Ig Nobel Prize in biology), relatively few ants have been so analyzed. That situation has now begun to be remedied. This study “The True Odor of the Odorous House Ant,” Clint A. Penick and Adrian A. Smith, American Entomologist, vol. […]
