Saving Private Ant: Ant Study Shows Rescuing Capabilities
December 13th, 2009 Posted in Ants & Roaches, Green Living & News
Countless movies are made every year about rescue attempts. From Homeward Bound to Saving Private Ryan, Hollywood loves a good rescue story filled with dangerous obstacles and of course, a hero. Well look out adorable dogs and the U.S. military, there’s a new hero in town: the ant.
An ant study at the University of Paris Nord set up the perfect scenario. A couple of desert ants were buried in the sand, attached to loops of nylon string. As they struggled to free themselves, researchers watched as members of their colony enacted an elaborate (for ants, at least) rescue. The ants organized into a squad of five feisty fighters who relentlessly dug away at the sand to expose the nylon string. They then proceeded to chew away at the string until their comrade was free.
Not convinced? Many people argue that it is simply ant nature to find the problem (trapped ant) then dig and pull them out, like they were programmed from birth to perform these rescues.
But researchers argue that it’s improbable that these ants simply followed protocol as they chewed away at the nylon (synthetic) problem. And to organize into a rescue squad and systematically attack the problem? That seems too sophisticated to be simple animal nature.
Before you start calling Hollywood with “Boy, have I got a pitch for you!” you should know that these ants aren’t as altruistic as you might think. Further studies revealed that ants will only help members of their own colony. If you were a poor, trapped ant from a neighboring colony, forget it, bucko. You just have to suffer. Not only because you were trapped, but because these ants would actively attack trapped members of other colonies with open jaws and acid spray. Now that’s not very neighborly, is it?
Also, ants would only rescue other ants who struggled to free themselves. If the ants weren’t moving (as the ones that the researchers “chilled” beforehand weren’t) then the ants didn’t organize to rescue their poor frozen friend. This leads researchers to deduce that a pheromone is released by a struggling ant that causes other ants to come to its rescue. So rescues demand very specific criteria, probably not suited to another Hollywood movie about bugs and their selflessness (A Bug’s Life was enough.)
All of this may make you respect ants, but that doesn’t mean you want them treating your pantry like an all-you-can-eat buffet. If you have an ant problem but don’t want to eradicate them with harsh chemicals, try EcoSMART Ant and Roach Killer. It’s safe around children and pets while still effectively getting rid of those pesky ants!
