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The Conversation
The Conversation
Laurence Zwiebel, Professor of Biological Sciences and of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University

Smell is the crucial sense that holds ant society together, helping the insects recognize, communicate and cooperate with one another

Ants from different colonies will fight based on smell alone. Joseph Howell, Vanderbilt University, CC BY-ND

Ants can be found in nearly every location on Earth, with rough estimates suggesting there are over 10 quadrillion individuals – that is a 1 followed by 16 zeroes, or about 1 million ants per person. Ants are among the most biologically successful animals on the planet.

A surprising part of their evolutionary success is the amazing sense of smell that lets them recognize, communicate and cooperate with one another.

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