Army ants, which Dr. Couzin has spent much time observing in Panama, are particularly good at moving in swarms. If they have to travel over a depression in the ground, they erect bridges so that they can proceed as quickly as possible.
"They build the bridges with their living bodies," said Dr. Couzin, a mathematical biologist at Princeton University and the University of Oxford. "They build them up if they're required, and they dissolve if they're not being used."
Dr Couzin spent much time observing Army ants in Panama and found out that they are proficient in moving in swarms and if they had to travel over a depression in the ground, they form bridges with their bodies so that they can proceed with their “work” as quickly as they can. An interesting fact I read about was that army ants return to their nest with food travel in a dense column and a three-lane highway of army ants can stretch up to 140 meters from the ant nest, comprising hundreds of thousands of insects!
In another article “'Living plugs' smooth ant journey”, scientists from the University of Bristol investigate how ants used their own bodies to plug potholes to provide a faster route between their prey and nest. Not only did the ants plug the hole, they would size-match themselves to a hole which fits best. And amazingly, the ant could remain in place for hours, while the rest move back and forth across the trail.
Dr Powell said: "Broadly, our research demonstrates that a simple but highly specialised behaviour performed by a minority of ant workers can improve the performance of the majority, resulting in a clear benefit for the society as a whole."
He was referring to how speeding up the route by covering the holes with their bodies could increase the ant’s daily prey intake.
The communication between ants is something amazing because in my impression, they are so tiny! They communicate with each other through chemicals called pheromones and when one of them find food, they mark a trail on the way back to the colony, which is reinforced by other ants when they head back to the colony. Ants can carry up to twenty times their weight!
Besides chemical communication, I found out that another communication method used more commonly by ants who occupy wooden nest is accoustical communication. For example, carpenter ants communicate through drumming in times of danger. A drummer ant strikes the substrate with its mandibles and gaster while rocking its body back and forth. Signals would be transmitted through the nest. Another way which they produce a high pitched sound like a “chirp” is through rubbing together the organs at the rear of their bodies!
"The more ants are studied the more they reveal capabilities that exceed their small size." - Whit Gibbons
References
Pictures
http://www.alexanderwild.com/gallery/1455585/1/70631814#70631814
http://thinkorthwim.com/2007/05/28/ants-using-themselves-as-living-bridges/