Since the publication of The Insect Societies, many experts in a wide range of disciplines have been taking up the challenge posed by E.O. Wilson: to understand how societies operate and evolve, and what this knowledge implies for human beings. The essays collected in Of Ants and Men form a unique collection that addresses the astonishing variety of behaviors that ants exhibit while avoiding mere description. The contributors bring their own life stories, their work on ants, or reflected on Wilson’s writings, to bear on such issues as ant senescence, ultrastructure of ant eye color vision, multigenerational learning in an ant species with no communication among individuals other than by pheromones, and how ants build spectacular mounds or rafts when marooned in water. The scholars here are amply representative of a new generation of evolutionary biologists who are working out how natural selection has shaped adaptive organization–the interplay between genes, organismal development and environmental constraints–to create such diverse forms of animal life as our own species.

Of Ants And Men

Introduction

For all the research that has been done into ants, they are still a mystery. Perhaps it’s because they are so alien to us, or because they are similar to us in some respects and completely dissimilar in others. One thing is certain: these remarkable creatures have much to teach us about ourselves, if we take the time to look more closely.

Of Ants And Men

Of Ants and Men

Ants display a number of traits that would seem to be uniquely human. They have a sense of time, direction and self-awareness. In fact, ants are so similar to humans that it is difficult for us to understand their behavior because we assume they think like us. We forget that ants have a different sensory apparatus from humans, which gives them different experiences in their world than we have in ours. Their world is more complex than ours; they live with more things going on at once within their immediate environment than do humans (and other animals). To make matters worse, ants cannot speak or write so there is no way for them to tell us how they see things differently from how we do ourselves! We need an ant perspective on what it’s like living as an insect instead of seeing things through human eyes alone!

The similarities between ants and humans are many, striking in the ways that we are alike, and even more interesting in those ways that we are not.

One of the most interesting similarities between ants and humans is that both species have an internal sense of time. Ants are able to tell how much time has passed since they left their colony, which can be as much as several days. When returning from foraging trips, for example, ants with food in their jaws will release it at specific times within the day. This helps other members of the colony know when it’s time to start gathering food or begin construction activities. In addition to this ability, ants can also distinguish between two locations by relative distance rather than absolute direction—a skill no doubt useful when navigating through thousands of miles underground!

Ants are also capable of making decisions based on their past experiences even though they lack facial expressions or language skills such as communication through sound waves like humans do (or “talking”). Ants use pheromones instead: chemicals secreted by one member which affect another indirectly through smell rather than direct contact with another individual’s body parts such as eyesight or hearing systems (or “listening”). This enables them not only communicate but also learn from each other without having had direct contact with one another beforehand (or ever).

Ants have an internal sense of time, just as humans do. Not surprising – what creature does not have some way of pacing itself? But this sense is remarkable. To perform the work necessary to sustain its colony, an ant will carefully pace itself over a period of hours, then emerge and return exactly when it’s needed. That’s remarkable.

It’s not surprising that ants have an internal sense of time. In fact, what creature does not have some way of pacing itself? But this sense is remarkable. To perform the work necessary to sustain its colony, an ant will carefully pace itself over a period of hours, then emerge and return exactly when it’s needed.

That’s remarkable because ants are more akin to a hive mind than simply a collection of individual units working together for the common good. While worker bees are born into their role as workers and remain in it throughout their lives, with no opportunity to change course once they are old enough to work in the hive (and only males can become drones), worker ants can switch roles if they want or need too; queens even lay eggs that become males after three days!

Ants have also been found to be able to distinguish between two locations by relative location rather than absolute direction – a skill called path integration. The ability to do this depends on being able to track one’s own movements through the environment and remember them even after the passage of long periods of time.

Ants have also been found to be able to distinguish between two locations by relative location rather than absolute direction – a skill called path integration. The ability to do this depends on being able to track one’s own movements through the environment and remember them even after the passage of long periods of time.

Ants also use landmarks while navigating, once they have learned where they are relative to landmarks like trees or buildings, they can then use those landmarks as reference points in their travels. The more ants that pass by these landmarks and mark them with pheromones, the stronger the scent becomes making it easier for other ants to find their way back when needed.

Some researchers believe that ants may even be able to orient themselves through three dimensions rather than merely two, just as human explorers or hikers can record their movements by triangulating their position while moving through space. That’s impressive. It may mean that ant colonies are more akin to a hive mind than simply a collection of individual units working together for the common good.

Ants are able to orient themselves in three dimensions, a skill that other animals have not entirely mastered. They navigate by triangulating their position while moving through space, just as human explorers or hikers might record their movements by triangulating their position while moving through space. This may mean that ant colonies are more akin to a hive mind than simply a collection of individual units working together for the common good.

Some researchers believe that ants may even be able to distinguish between two locations by relative location rather than absolute direction (north vs south), which would be quite an accomplishment for tiny insects with minuscule brains!

Conclusion

We would all be more successful at life if only we could learn to communicate and work together as effectively as ants do.