Ants can identify their worst enemy
A recent study has revealed that ants can distinguish their worst enemy from the less threatening ones and react with appropriate aggression.
Observing the behavior of the ant species Temnothorax longispinosus showed that the creature reacted more violently when it spotted its worst enemy.
Ants try to kill slave makers, their most dangerous enemies which steal their pupae, by biting and stinging. They do not, however, waste their energy on intruders of other species.
According to the study published in the journal Ethology, a team of scientists from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany brought ant colonies into their laboratory to observe their reactions to different types of intruders.
"We introduced workers of four different ant species into the ant colonies," explained leader of the team Dr. Scharf.
"The first was an unfamiliar species - one that didn’t share this ant’s habitat. The second was an ant from the same species and the third was a familiar competitor - a related species that did inhabit the same areas."
The last and the most dangerous intruder was the slave maker ant who invades other ant colonies, steal their brood, often killing the host queen and workers.
When the little T. longispinosus ants faced a slave maker, they started biting and stinging it. With less threatening opponents, however, they simply tried to drag them from the nest.
"It is surprising - they’re making a clear distinction," said Dr. Scharf.
"They don’t waste their energy responding aggressively to every single intruder. It’s logical to adjust their response to the threat."
Source: presstv.ir
