Stridulation

Stridulation is the act of making sounds or musical notes by rubbing together certain hard parts of the body. It is very common for many male insects to produce such of noise, specially by orthopera as crickets, grasshoppers and locusts. There are also animals that use stridulation such as snakes, spiders, and birds. Recent studies by a small band of researchers show that even ants have the capacity to stridulate! One of the most known in the researching is Dr. Robert Hickling. In his homepage you may find more about him and his research (read also this article for more information).



There is something special about this "new discovery". It was already written for more tan 1400 years ago in the Quran. In surat an-Naml in the verse 18 it states that ants do comunicate, and warn the others in case of emergency. It says in the Quran:

"Till, when they reached the Valley of the Ants, an ant exclaimed: O ants! Enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his armies crush you, unperceiving" (Chapter 27, verse 18, Translation by Pickthal)

Listen to the sound of Black Fire Ants (MP3 files from Dr. Hickler's homepage):

Alarm signal
Normal movement
Sounds of ants attacking
Distress signals

Watch the following video from IslamicTube:



Sources:
Definition: Stridulation from Online Medical Dictionary.
Dr. R. Hicklings homepage.
Stridulation on Wikipedia
Translation of the verse from USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts
Article: When Ants Squeak