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Post by craig on Jun 21, 2010 21:19:46 GMT
Hi all,
I have 4 small colonies and one thing I have noticed with the L.Niger colony is worker behaviour around the queen. The workers jump like a flinch or a sudden start. They also do this away from the queen but it appears more frequent when they are around her. I've searched the books I have but as yet have not found any mention of this behaviour.
Any thoughts guys
Thanks
Craig
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Post by Wood~Ant on Jun 22, 2010 6:49:32 GMT
Hi Craig and welcome to our Ant Hill World  I have seen this behaviour in ant species from time to time, but like you say it seems to happen a lot with Lasius niger and related species from the same genera. It might be some form of communication, or just occur because they are reacting to a stimulus of some kind. To be honest, even ant experts are not always sure why ants perform certain rituals; but like a worker bee does a "wiggle dance" when she finds a large food source, ants do similar things. For now, it remains one of those mystery things of nature that makes us marvel, and wonder why when we think we know so much about ants and our natural world, in actual fact we know so little and still have things to learn about them  Perhaps when we have been on this planet for around 200 million years like ants and many other forms of insects have, then we may know the answers better  |
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Post by tomorrownight on Jun 22, 2010 8:17:27 GMT
my messor ebenius do the same thing, but not all the time, they did it in winter more often....
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Post by Black Ant on Jun 22, 2010 8:22:05 GMT
my messor ebenius do the same thing, but not all the time, they did it in winter more often.... perhaps it's a way of generating extra body warmth  |
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Post by formica on Jun 22, 2010 13:50:37 GMT
As Wood says, its one of those things we need to marvel at. There is not much known about ants and thats why I like to study them, so I can find out more about these amazing little creatures. From what I can tell, there is nothing wrong. Some humans are a bit odd, aren't they? ;D So why can't the same rule apply to ants? We all may have done and acted unusual things but sometimes we simply cannot explain them. |
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Post by craig on Jun 22, 2010 19:26:06 GMT
Thanks for the welcome and the reply, in a way I'm glad there are no current answers for the behaviour because I was begining to think I was being a little slow or had purchased all the wrong books. If I live long enough maybe I'll figure it out.
At least its not mites or an illness
Thanks again
Craig
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