74653897 Some worker ants were more equal than others
Scientists have discovered that some of the worker ants are "more equal" of their relatives. Their conclusions on the results of laboratory experiments, experts presented in the journal Journal of Experimental Biology. Brief paper writes Wired. The researchers worked with ants Temnothorax albipennis, dwelling on the southern coast of Britain. Scientists have built a laboratory in two artificial nest – one was "equipped" with all necessary for the life of insects and the other was empty. To follow the movements of ants in the laboratory, scientists using a special dye painted on the back of each of these individual signs – they were clearly visible on the recordings made by cameras and devices that react to movement. Scientists have settled in insects 'ready' nest, and a week later destroyed it, while putting in another lab jack, suitable for settlement. It turned out that most of the ants after they lost their home, began to randomly move around the laboratory, but some individuals purposely went to a new nest and began to study it. Examining the new location, "intelligence" began to return regularly for the rest of the insect and to entice them to the new nest. This process continued until, until all the ants had moved into a whole shelter. Recently, another team of researchers working with the red ants Pogonomyrmex barbatus, also found that some of these insects are different from the others – the researchers found among ants, "thousands," which are in contact with relatives were significantly more likely than the average representative of the colony.
