Monsoon Ant Army

The story

Last June, Riya noticed a line of ants marching into her kitchen, even though the rain had not started. She only wanted ant-free toast, so she assumed ants were after sugar. The kitchen was full of chai masala aroma, and thunder could be heard. Suddenly, instead of heading for the sugar, the ants turned and moved toward the window. Riya was puzzled by their sudden change. Chintu guessed maybe ants could smell the rain, while Kabir joked that they had a group chat. Baba suggested they just followed each other's tracks. Then Aaji pointed out how every ant followed the one ahead, sniffing as they went. Riya tried sprinkling water near the window the next day and saw a new trail form instantly. What were the ants really doing?

The science

Ants sense the humidity in the air before it rains. One ant leaves behind a chemical trail on the ground, which is called a pheromone. This trail acts as an invisible message to other ants, letting them know where to move. By following these pheromone trails, the whole ant group can quickly change direction and move to safety before the rain starts. This way, ants communicate and coordinate as a group using pheromone communication. This is a textbook example of animal behaviour found in biology.

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