Why Are Ants Not Always Working?
WouterThose familiar with ants know that they’re hard workers. In fact, ants are nature’s greatest scavengers. These little creatures decompose organic matter in the soil. They also create bridges and tunnels. They also build underground chambers for food and rest.
But did you know that ants are not always working? According to entomologist Daniel Charbonneau, forty percent of ant colonies are inactive slackers. In fact, they replaced the top twenty percent of the most active workers in their colonies.
However, this doesn’t explain why ants aren’t always working. Using CT scanning technology, researchers studied pressure on ants’ neck joints. Their results showed that ants were actually capable of lifting at least three hundred to five hundred times their own body weight.
It’s also noteworthy that some insects have tested the theory of a reserve work force. Other insects have found that they need to work harder in order to get the same amount of work done.
One ant, the Asian weaver, is capable of lifting up to 100 times its own mass. Other species of ants spend their lives inside a nest.
Besides carrying food back to the nest, worker ants also lay down pheromones. They also follow a pheromone trail to find food. This may be the ant equivalent of the human circadian cycle.
The ant’s neck joints are a key to its strength. They also have the ability to create a raft and a tunnel. It’s not uncommon for an ant to travel a long distance to reach a nest.
