Ants At Work by Deborah Gordon Paige Johan Anthropology 179A Dr. White UCI: Fall 2002

Various Networks of Ants Networks and connections within the ant colony. Networks of trails and paths to food outside the colony. Networking and connections with neighboring ant colonies.

3 Distinct Levels of Ants Queen Ants Winged Only ants that can reproduce females Male Ants Winged Life Span: Only a few weeks Only live for reproduction Sterile Female Ants Worker Ants Can reproduce males (do not need sterilization)

Life Cycles Colony Life Cycles Form when a New Queen mates with a Male from another parent colony, and then forms her own colony Generally last about 15 years Can exist as long as the Queen can continue reproducing female workers Individual Ant Life Cycles Queen: years Males: A few weeks (long enough to reproduce) Female Workers: About 1 year

Working Ants and Daily Chores Interior Workers Tend to the Queen and brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) Nest Maintenance Open and close entrances to the nest Maintain all structures and pathways within the colony Patrollers Designate the foraging paths for the day Foragers Follow paths designated for them to gather food for the colony Midden Workers Manage the refuse pile, also known as the Midden The Midden also seems to have a significant relation to how the ants find their colony.

Allocation of Tasks No source of leadership Queen is only there to reproduce, not to control the colony As conditions change emphasis on certain jobs change Workers are moved from one task to another depending on the need for workers Ex. If there are serious issues with nest maintenance, some foragers will switch to nest maintenance until the problem is solved. Foraging is the most important task and will call for workers before any other task

Foraging Paths and Trails Mature colonies can have up to 8 customary foraging trails However, patrolling ants generally do not send foraging ants to the same trail as the day before Younger colonies are more likely to send their foraging ants to a rich food source they had once found

Foraging Paths (continued) Larger colonies don’t necessarily cover larger areas, but get more food because they have more workers Paths are very adaptable They grow into more intricate paths with the growth of the workforce A small workforce changes the paths to a more standard construct to cover area more effectively

Connections with Other Colonies Workers can recognize ants from their own colony by a colony specific scent When foragers from different colonies meet, those foraging trails will be used less and less, and seen as space lost to competition Certain foragers specialize in fighting, and are usually not let out unless large number of foragers are out

Older Colonies vs. Younger Colonies Older colonies are more likely to interact with other colonies Colonies remain about the same size Once colonies reach the 2-year mark they are likely to keep the size of their nest the same More ants are sent out from the older colony Older colonies also send their foragers out farther distance

Natural Response to Strangers Ants respond to the rate of interaction with non- nestmates Sight not good, use contact rate to determine the density of non-nestmates Ants will try to maintain density through clustering when they feel contact rate is low Contact rate directly correlates with density of nestmates Low contact rates indicates high numbers of mates present High contact rates indicate low number of mates present

Sources Used Gordon, D. (1999). Ants at work. New York, NY: The Free Press. Foster, D. (2001) An ant’s life. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on November 13, Library.Thinkquest.org. (?). Insects. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on November 13, The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (2000). Managing imported fire ants in urban areas. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on November 13, 2002.