Research group in insect olfaction: the ant

Photograph by Eye of Science

The olfactory system of ants is very elaborate. In particular, a variety of different social pheromones are known, regarding both their composition and their behavioral significance. This makes this taxon very attractive for investigating the central processing of odors: are odors with a genetically determined significance coded differently than environmental odors? Unlike the sexual pheromones in moths, many ant pheromones are substances that also occur in the natural environment.