Reconnaissance and latent learning in ants

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2007-06, Vol.274 (1617), p.1505-1509
• Main Authors: Franks, Nigel R, Hooper, James W, Dornhaus, Anna, Aukett, Philippa J, Hayward, Alexander L, Berghoff, Stefanie M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Ants; Ants - physiology; Choice Behavior - physiology; Collective Decision-Making; Cues; Exploratory Behavior - physiology; Formicidae; Honey bee colonies; House-Hunting; Insect behavior; Insect colonies; Insect nests; Landmarks; Latent learning; Learning - physiology; Memory; Nesting Behavior - physiology; Nesting sites; Orientation - physiology; Pheromones; Pheromones - physiology; Planning For The Future; Public And Private Information; Social insects; Spatial Behavior - physiology; Temnothorax albipennis; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0962-8452; 1471-2954
• DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0138

We show that ants can reconnoitre their surroundings and in effect plan for the future. Temnothorax albipennis colonies use a sophisticated strategy to select a new nest when the need arises. Initially, we presented colonies with a new nest of lower quality than their current one that they could explore for one week without a need to emigrate. We then introduced a second identical low quality new nest and destroyed their old nest so that they had to emigrate. Colonies showed a highly significant preference for the (low quality) novel new nest over the identical but familiar one. In otherwise identical experiments, colonies showed no such discrimination when the choice was between a familiar and an unfamiliar high-quality nest. When, however, either all possible pheromone marks were removed, or landmarks were re-orientated, just before the emigration, the ants chose between identical low-quality new nests at random. These results demonstrate for the first time that ants are capable of assessing and retaining information about the quality of potential new nest sites, probably by using both pheromones and landmark cues, even though this information may only be of strategic value to the colony in the future. They seem capable, therefore, of latent learning and, more explicitly, learning what not to do.