HOUSE-hunting ant colonies can decide where best to nest even when most
workers only visit one prospective site. Eamonn Mallon at the University of Bath
colour-coded Leptothorax albipennis ants with paint and videoed them in an arena
containing two potential nests. They found the verdict on which one they chose
could be measured by the delay between a scout discovering a nest and leading
others to it. The better the nest, the shorter the delay. Once the number of
ants in the new nest reaches a threshold, “the rest are carried in”, says
Mallon, whose study will appear in a…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from 51¶¯Âþ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending 51¶¯Âþ articles
1
Mathematicians stunned by AI's biggest breakthrough in mathematics yet
2
Photos reveal unexpected details from the world's first atomic test
3
The Selfish Gene at 50: Why Dawkins’s evolution classic still holds up
4
We may finally know why dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms
5
How I used psychology to come back from the worst year of my life
6
The distant world that is our best hope of finding alien life
7
The ‘doomsday’ glacier’s giant ice shelf is about to break away
8
Epic dreaming is leaving people exhausted and distressed
9
Extreme heat hampers children’s early learning
10
CAR T-cell therapy bolstered by stiffening up cancer cells first
