ORIENTATION IN ANTS

JENNIFER ZORAYA GARZON V.

ETOLOGY 2014
 ANTS

• They are the most abundant group in the

world.
• Between 12,000 and 14,000 species.
• They constitute around 15% of the total
animal biomass.
• Distributed throughout the planet and in
the most diverse habitats and climates.
 Taxonomy
Reino: Animalia
Filo: Arthropoda
Subfilo: Hexapoda
Clase: Insecta
Subclase: Pterygota
Infraclase: Neoptera
Superorden: Endopterygota
Orden: Hymenoptera
Suborden: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Vespoidea
Familia: Formicidae
 No
reproductive
task

COMMUNICATION

Alarm, attraction, recruitment, assistance, through: strokes,

recognition, determination of the breed, signs stridulations, rubs,
of territorial range and mark of nests among fastenings, antennae, taste
others and secretion of chemical
substances
 Chemical orientation
• They generate pathways through
chemical depositions called
pheromones.

• The pavan gland: produces

threshing or trail pheromones

• These pheromones are responsible

for marking the territory of use of
the colony.

• Smell is the key to this type of

communication, which is found in
its antennas.
Pavan’s Gland
feromones
how ants are oriented in the desert?

leave
odorous
traces

They use only the eyes

Mainly oriented by:

The sky according to the position of the sun

The plane of polarization of light.
 Orientation
Each one has its own
lenticular system and its
THE COMPOSITE EYE DETERMINES own visual cells
THE POSITION OF THE SUN AND THE
POLARIZATION PLAN OF THE LIGHT.
External cornea
Crystal cone

(Concentrates the light on

the 8 visual cells)
Cataglyphis bicolor
• Large size: 2 cm long.
Bicolor: his head is red, his
abdomen black shiny.
Hunter: Straightens the
abdomen and moves from
6 to 8 m / s. Dismantle
their prey.
Thank You
 Bibliografía
• López, O. (2008). Hormigas como sistemas
modelo para el comportamiento complejo.
Tesis Doctor en Cienias, Universidad de
Mexico: Mexico D.F. pp 12 – 29.
• Gutierrez, A. y Monasterio, F. (2006)
Algoritmos de rastreo inspirados en colonias
de hormigas. European centre for
Softcomputing. 299 – 305.