Ants are quite small, but are known for their sharp attacks. You never know when they will come and cut you off. Imagine, if you are aware of their smell, then maybe you will know that an ant is around you even before you get bitten. You will get away from it and avoid pain. But can you smell ants? How do they smell? Scientist has told about this.
If you are asked how many types of ants are there, your answer might be red ants and black ants. But according to the report of Live Science, there are more than 13,000 species of ants present on earth. Professor Clint Penick of Kennesaw State University in Georgia has done a long research on this. He told that actually they are divided into red and black colors. But there is one thing by which they can be identified differently. And that is their smell.
Releases strong smelling chemicals when crushed
Many species of ants release strong-smelling chemicals when angry or crushed. For example, when trap-jaw ants are disturbed, they emit a chocolate-like smell. Large yellow looking citronella ants emit a lemon-like odor. But most importantly, the ants found in our and your homes smell like rotten cheese or stale coconut. According to scientists, this is because domestic ants release chemicals called methyl ketones. These are produced from Penicillium bacteria. Which grow on cheese and rotting coconut.
It doesn’t smell that much…
Professor Clint Penick said, if we knew the smell of ants, we would crush them before they could attack. But not all species of ants have enough smell for the human nose to detect. Because this smell can be quite mild. Only after crushing something can we smell it. But if many of these ants move together, the smell can be detected. There are some ants which give off smell from a distance. These can be smelled from a distance.
Tags: Awesome Awesome, The news is coming, Weird news
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 15, 2024, 13:32 IST
