Amazonian ants Allomerus octoarticulatus act as bodyguards, defending the Cordia nodosa plant against herbivores—such as grasshoppers—in a mutualistic relationship. A recent study pinpoints a genetic variation among A. octoarticulatus that makes some of the ants better bodyguards: a certain foraging gene makes the ants better at discovering the grasshoppers attempting to feed on the plant. Researchers studied two ant colonies, one of which […]
Tag: ants
Ants are excellent navigators – even when travelling sideways or backwards
Ants know exactly where they came from, even if they travelled there by somewhat untraditional (for humans, anyway) means, like crawling backward or sideways. A new study found that ants can tell the difference between the direction their body is facing and the direction of travel. These findings challenge the notion that insects operate solely […]
