A new experimental study has shown that ants are able to take offense, remember the smell of attackers, react more aggressively to familiar competitors, and learn from their experience.
Transmits UNN with reference to Current Biology.
Details
Humans do not always have the ability to forgive offenses, and moreover, they often struggle with compensation for damages. Much of what is characteristic of human existence also appears to be inherent in the ant world. A study published in the journal Current Biology sheds new light on how these social insects interact with their environment and competitors.
How the new evidence was obtained
Scientists conducted two stages of experiments to determine whether ants remember bad experiences with other ants and how this affects their relationships.
During the experiment, the researchers first allowed experienced ants to have an experience. The scientists placed the ants in 60-second familiarisation scenarios between nests ‘A’ and ‘B’:
At first, the insects simply met with their nest neighbors, then the group interacted with aggressive ants and met with a group of hostile insects. All this was repeated once for each group for five consecutive days.
Aggressive reaction to well-known competitors
Scientists investigated how different groups of ants subsequently reacted when they encountered aggressive ants. The results confirmed that ants do indeed remember their encounters: they were more hostile to ants that smelled like past bad encounters with other nests.
However, when they crossed paths with ants from the passive colony again, the insects behaved more calmly. It should be noted that to ensure that the competing animals, which were supposed to behave passively, did so, the scientists cut off their antennae.
But another thing is interesting: the fact that the experimental ants were more aggressive toward known competitors than unknown ones was not obvious enough in all situations.
The behavior of social insects is highly variable, even in such important tasks as nest defense
At the same time, based on the analysis of the study, the researchers concluded:
Ant behavior is shaped by their specific experiences. Aggressive interactions in the past led to further aggression, while encounters with passive opponents led to a calmer reaction.
This emphasizes the ability of ants to learn and adapt based on their interactions, the scientists say.
Recall
Billions of insects, mostly flies, migrate through the Pyrenees mountain pass between France and Spain every year, playing an important role as pollinators, pest controllers, and nutrient transporters.
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