How do ants find new places to build colonies?
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How Ants Find New Places to Build Colonies
Ants exhibit a variety of sophisticated behaviors and strategies to find new places to build colonies. These strategies are influenced by factors such as colony size, environmental conditions, and the specific needs of the species. Here, we explore the mechanisms and behaviors ants use to locate and establish new nests.
Polydomy and Dispersed Central-Place Foraging
Polydomy is a common strategy among many ant species, where a single colony occupies multiple nests. This decentralized structure allows ants to overcome some of the limitations of classic central-place foraging. For instance, the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) establishes new nests near food sources, redistributing workers, brood, and resources among nests to optimize foraging efficiency and competitive ability. This flexible system enhances their ability to exploit spatially heterogeneous food resources and maintain high foraging efficiency .
Individual Variation in Exploratory Behavior
The exploratory behavior of individual ants plays a crucial role in the collective nest selection process. In the case of the Argentine ant, groups with a mix of exploratory and non-exploratory individuals were found to be more effective in quickly and accurately selecting new nest sites. Exploratory ants gather information about potential sites, which helps the colony make informed decisions and relocate efficiently.
Tandem Running and Recruitment Strategies
Tandem running is a recruitment strategy where one ant leads another to a new nest site. This method is particularly effective in species like Diacamma indicum, which shows high tandem running speeds and path efficiency. This strategy ensures that all colony members are recruited to the new nest, optimizing relocation efforts. Additionally, larger colonies tend to use more complex recruitment strategies, such as pheromone trails, to coordinate the movement of a greater number of individuals.
Nest Site Preferences and Hygiene
Ants also consider the hygiene and pathogen load of potential nest sites. For example, the pharaoh ant (Monomorium pharaonis) surprisingly prefers infected nests over uninfected ones, possibly as an adaptive strategy to immunize the colony against future exposure to the same pathogen. This behavior highlights the importance of environmental factors in nest site selection.
Colony Size and Decision Making
The size of the colony significantly impacts the decision-making process during nest relocation. Larger colonies, such as those of Temnothorax albipennis, deploy more scouts and use higher quorum thresholds to make collective decisions, which helps them find and select the best nest sites more quickly than smaller colonies. This ability to mobilize a larger workforce allows them to exploit available resources more efficiently and reduces the likelihood of colony splitting.
Social Parasitism and Dependent Colony Founding
Some ant species, like the fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), use social parasitism to establish new colonies. Overwintered queens lacking the resources for independent founding infiltrate orphaned colonies and exploit their worker force to start new colonies. This strategy allows them to bypass the challenges of independent colony founding and ensures the survival and expansion of their lineage.
Avoidance of Conspecific Colonies
Ants also exhibit behaviors to avoid conspecific colonies during nest selection. For instance, Temnothorax albipennis ants prefer new nest sites that are further away from established conspecific colonies to reduce competition and aggression. This active choice is influenced by odour cues and the density of resident ants, ensuring that new colonies are established in less competitive environments.
Conclusion
Ants employ a diverse array of strategies to find and establish new colonies, ranging from polydomy and exploratory behavior to tandem running and social parasitism. These behaviors are influenced by colony size, environmental conditions, and the specific needs of the species, ensuring that ants can efficiently locate and exploit new nesting sites. Understanding these mechanisms provides insight into the complex social structures and adaptive strategies that contribute to the success of ant colonies.
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