To Fathom a Colony’s Talk and Toil, Studying Insects One by One
Alex Wild
DIVISION OF LABOR Anna Dornhaus, a University of Arizona researcher, painted ants different colors to study them. Great differences were found in the speed of ants’ work, and about 50 percent were found to do no work.
Ants in arid climates must store food to survive long periods of dearth. In the deserts of North America, Myrmecocystus honeypot ants use their bodies as living containers, their bodies swelling with liquid reserves that they regurgitate to nest mates when needed.
Photo: Alex Wild Kaynak:(http://www.nytimes.com ) TUNALIM…