Comments on: An entire world follows the march of the army ants http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/30/an-entire-world-follows-the-march-of-the-army-ants/ Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:00:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Andrew Wilson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/30/an-entire-world-follows-the-march-of-the-army-ants/#comment-9942 Andrew Wilson Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:37:14 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=3195#comment-9942 I'm so happy MacGyver gets a shout out here :) Is that wrong? I’m so happy MacGyver gets a shout out here :) Is that wrong?

]]> By: Brian Too http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/30/an-entire-world-follows-the-march-of-the-army-ants/#comment-9941 Brian Too Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:57:34 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=3195#comment-9941 Those mandibles on the warrior! Formidable. Those mandibles on the warrior! Formidable.

]]> By: Craig http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/30/an-entire-world-follows-the-march-of-the-army-ants/#comment-9940 Craig Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:09:54 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=3195#comment-9940 We can glorify these "Army Ants" all day long but remember their mind is still controlled by the hive. Perhaps if they ever knew true peace they would not march. x We can glorify these “Army Ants” all day long but remember their mind is still controlled by the hive. Perhaps if they ever knew true peace they would not march. x

]]> By: Kate Cooper http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/30/an-entire-world-follows-the-march-of-the-army-ants/#comment-9939 Kate Cooper Tue, 30 Nov 2010 21:40:43 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=3195#comment-9939 An intriguing aspect of the ant behaviour you describe is that the <em>size</em> of the colony, itself dependent on reproductive success, changes the patterns of behaviour. Years ago I read Deborah Gordon's book about her longitudinal studies of harvester ants in Arizona: "Ants at Work: How an Insect Society is Organized". She also observed that colony behaviour changes with a change in colony size. In what she calls the 'Epilogue' to the book, she wrote: "Ants do not tell each other what to do by transferring messages. The signal is not in the contact, or in the chemical information exchanged in the contact. The signal is in the pattern of contact . . . The other intriguing feature of interaction patterns is that such patterns depend on the size of the system." An intriguing aspect of the ant behaviour you describe is that the size of the colony, itself dependent on reproductive success, changes the patterns of behaviour.

Years ago I read Deborah Gordon’s book about her longitudinal studies of harvester ants in Arizona: “Ants at Work: How an Insect Society is Organized”. She also observed that colony behaviour changes with a change in colony size. In what she calls the ‘Epilogue’ to the book, she wrote:

“Ants do not tell each other what to do by transferring messages. The signal is not in the contact, or in the chemical information exchanged in the contact. The signal is in the pattern of contact . . . The other intriguing feature of interaction patterns is that such patterns depend on the size of the system.”

]]> By: Dale Hoyt http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/30/an-entire-world-follows-the-march-of-the-army-ants/#comment-9938 Dale Hoyt Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:19:38 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/?p=3195#comment-9938 While a human is in no danger of being devoured by a swarm of Army Ants they are not entirely harmless. In Costa Rica a raiding swarm took up residence in the hotel I was staying in. The bivouac was established in my bathroom, on the ceiling above the tub. The workers and soldiers were all over the room and the veranda. It was impossible to stay there because of the stings and bites whenever they came in contact with bare flesh. The next morning I watched the bivouac move on, leaving the bathtub filled to a depth of one inch with the remains of the prey, mostly insect wings and legs, that had been gathered by the swarm and brought back to feed the developing larvae. I spent the night on the floor of the dining area in the adjacent building. While a human is in no danger of being devoured by a swarm of Army Ants they are not entirely harmless. In Costa Rica a raiding swarm took up residence in the hotel I was staying in. The bivouac was established in my bathroom, on the ceiling above the tub. The workers and soldiers were all over the room and the veranda. It was impossible to stay there because of the stings and bites whenever they came in contact with bare flesh. The next morning I watched the bivouac move on, leaving the bathtub filled to a depth of one inch with the remains of the prey, mostly insect wings and legs, that had been gathered by the swarm and brought back to feed the developing larvae. I spent the night on the floor of the dining area in the adjacent building.

]]>