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Can you "pet" an ant?

Started By futurebird , Jun 24 2022 10:57 AM

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9 replies to this topic

#1 Offline futurebird - Posted June 24 2022 - 10:57 AM

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1. Cats enjoy being petted because it reminds them of being groomed by another cat.
2. Ants are one of the few insects that practice social grooming.
3. It should be possible to "pet" an ant.

Now I don't think just rubbing would work. You need to mimic what ants do.

So maybe ... like... a tiny damp cotton swab? It would be very hard to get the pressure and motion right without scaring the ant. But, I still think the facts indicate ant petting should be possible. 

Have you ever "pet" an ant?


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#2 Offline bmb1bee - Posted June 24 2022 - 11:09 AM

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Grooming happens with the mouthparts and antennae, so maybe a strand of hair or something? I think I remember reading a study on that somewhere, where someone did that and the ants had a good reaction to it.
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#3 Offline ANTdrew - Posted June 24 2022 - 12:03 PM

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This post gave me all the feels.
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"The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer." Prov. 30:25
Keep ordinary ants in extraordinary ways.

#4 Offline FloridaAnts - Posted June 24 2022 - 12:11 PM

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I tried one time with a black ant(Lasius presumably)

It gave me chills. Not sure why, but I have never tried with agressive ants, and it might have something to do the way they communicate through antennae.
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#5 Offline antgallery - Posted June 24 2022 - 8:46 PM

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I once pet a infertile C. pennsylvanicus queen that was just chilling on my thumb. I think she had sorta given up on life due to her infertility though so that may be why she didn't try to run or anything.


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#6 Offline m99 - Posted June 24 2022 - 9:55 PM

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It's easy really first you need Rick Moranis and an attic and before you know it


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#7 Offline Dumpling - Posted June 24 2022 - 9:59 PM

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ummm one time I uneccesarily stressed out my camponotus sansabeanus queen and her one worker by petting her ghastor. a week later I found her worker decapitated and her only larvae gone. I wonder why...


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#8 Offline futurebird - Posted June 24 2022 - 11:38 PM

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Maybe she was always destined for a life of crime...


Starting this July I'm posting videos of my ants every week on youTube.

I like to make relaxing videos that capture the joy of watching ants.

If that sounds like your kind of thing... follow me >here<. 

#9 Offline ZTYguy - Posted June 25 2022 - 7:11 AM

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I have definitely let some of my Camponotus queens. I will say I dare not with my Pogonomyrmex  :lol:


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Ant Keeping Since June 2018
Currently Keeping:
A. versicolor, C. us-ca02, C. yogi, C. Vicinus, C. laevigatus, C. clarithorax, C. maritimus, C. ocreatus, M. mexicanus, M. placodops 01, V. andrei, V. pergandei, N. cockerelli, P. barbata, P. montanus

Hoping to Catch This season:

M. romanei, M. placodops 02, P. imberbiculus, Polyergus sp., F. moki, A. megomatta, Cyphomyrmex sp.,Temnothorax sp.

#10 Offline B_rad0806 - Posted June 25 2022 - 10:44 PM

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I have actually stroked my finger on mass worker clumps of both my Camponotus fragilis colony and Veromessor andrei. They actually did nothing surprisingly. 


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