Ants: The Fascinating World of Myrmecology with Terry McGlynn [podcast]

If you're new to Ologies, this episode is a fantastic introduction. Host Alie Ward, an engaging science communicator, interviews diverse scientists, interspersing humorous and informative asides to enhance the discussion. This particular episode with an ant expert serves as an ideal entry point into the intriguing universe of ants. Key takeaways include:

• Ants' primary adversaries are often other colonies of the same species.
• Argentine ants have become an invasive force in Los Angeles, forming a supercolony that spans hundreds of miles—still small compared to their South American counterpart. For more, check out the Kurzgesagt video below.
• Ants utilize chemical communication, and many aspects of this system remain a mystery to us.
• A dying ant emits a chemical signal prompting others to carry it to a "dead pile"; intriguingly, if this chemical is applied to a healthy ant, it too will be taken to the pile.
• All worker ants are female, while the males, equipped with wings, exist primarily to mate and then perish.
• Many army ant species excel at targeting and consuming other social insect colonies—see the related Kurzgesagt video for more insights.
• The queen is effectively a captive, with her daughters being more closely related to one another than to her. Ant genetics are complex; delve deeper in The Selfish Gene section below.
• Leafcutter ants cultivate fungus gardens similar to how humans farm.
• Some ants engage in farming practices, raising aphids for their honeydew while employing ranching techniques akin to those used by humans.
• Ants can become trapped in a "death spiral," following one another in circles until they perish.
• The most effective strategy for managing ants in your home is to allow them to feed and then trace them back to their entry point for sealing.
• The sting of a bullet ant is comparable to smashing your finger with a hammer.

Kurzgesagt: The Ant Wars — Army Ants

Kurzgesagt excels in creating concise educational videos with stunning visuals. This presentation highlights the ferocity and impact of army ants. You'll discover:

• Ants have existed for approximately 160 million years.
• There are around 10,000 ant species.
• The global ant population is estimated at 10 quadrillion, equating to about 1.25 million per human.
• The army ant genus, Eciton, includes around 200 species.
• They are nomadic and do not construct nests.
• A large swarm can eliminate up to 500,000 organisms in a single day.
• They overwhelm adversaries through sheer numbers.
• Unlike many ant species, army ants do not engage in conflicts with one another.

Kurzgesagt: The Massive Ant Mega Colony and Earth’s Largest War

The title is no exaggeration. Ants are relentless in their territorial disputes, with ongoing battles for land occurring globally. The emergence of supercolonies, largely due to human activities that introduce invasive species, has intensified this phenomenon. Key points include:

• Linepithema humile, commonly known as the Argentine ant, is remarkably adaptable.
• While they are smaller than fire ants and army ants, they excel in forming expansive colonies.
• Typically, there is one queen per 160 workers.
• They spread beyond their native regions in the late 1800s, facilitated by human migration and trade, leading to a lack of competition and the formation of vast colonies.
• Different colonies do clash; if you relocate an ant from one part of California to another 200 miles away, it will seamlessly integrate into the same colony.
• Argentine ants have displaced 90% of California's native ant populations.
• The red imported fire ant is emerging as a formidable competitor in the Southeastern U.S.

Smarter Every Day: Ants and Their Amazing Skills

This brief video offers a glimpse into the complex lives of leafcutter ants in the Amazon Rainforest. Observing them at night as they transport pieces of leaves while smaller ants meticulously clean them is truly mesmerizing. Insights include:

• Leafcutter ants actively seek sodium.
• If you wish to encourage one to carry a sign, a little urine will do the trick—just for scientific purposes, of course.
• These ants exhibit some of the most intricate social structures found in nature, cultivating their own fungus gardens.

Science Vs: Ants — Stories from Below the Surface [podcast]

This episode of Science Vs shares two captivating tales about ants, revealing:

• Their extraordinary adaptability, including a case where a makeshift colony thrived in a nuclear bunker without a queen or food source, relying solely on the continuous influx of new ants.
• Matabele ants exhibit altruistic behavior, rescuing injured comrades, though they refrain from signaling for help when severely wounded, as it would place an undue burden on others.

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins [Chapter 10]

The central premise of The Selfish Gene posits that genes utilize organisms, including humans, to replicate themselves, framing all life as a mechanism for gene replication. The book articulates various surprising concepts, particularly in Chapter 10, which discusses social insects.

One key takeaway is the puzzling behaviors and intricate social structures of many ant species can be attributed to the sterility of worker ants.

> “The majority of individuals in a social insect colony are sterile workers. The ‘germ line’—the line of immortal gene continuity—flows through the bodies of a minority of individuals, the reproductives.”

Workers are essentially expendable.

> “The death of a single sterile worker bee is no more serious to its genes than is the shedding of a leaf in autumn to the genes of a tree.”

The genetic connections within an ant colony differ significantly from our typical understanding of relatedness.

To illustrate, consider the differences in human reproduction:

Ant species exhibit various chromosome counts; for simplicity, let's assume 20 for this example.

This unique genetic framework leads to fascinating outcomes, as Dawkins elaborates:

> “A hymenopteran nest typically has only one mature queen... She made one mating flight when young and stored up the sperms for the rest of her long life.”

Male ants are fatherless, which could lead to some awkward discussions.

The implications of this reproductive process mean that sister ants share more genetic material than one might expect. Consequently, male ants and the queen share half of their genetic makeup, while sisters are actually three-quarters related.

This genetic structure supports the theory that workers, rather than the queen, govern ant colonies, as they are more genetically aligned with one another.

> “A gene for vicariously making sisters replicates itself more rapidly than a gene for making offspring directly.”

The dynamic of thousands of sisters compelling their mother to produce more siblings is perhaps one of the most surprising revelations about ant societies.

The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

It’s no wonder that numerous science fiction authors draw inspiration from ants and other social insects when creating alien species. The xenomorphs from the Alien franchise come to mind. However, the more I learn about social insects, the more I prefer the imaginative creations of sci-fi writers over the reality of being miniaturized and placed within an ant colony.

Originally published at https://www.hurtyourbrain.com.