The Power of Peace
When you were growing up, how many times did adults tell you to just try to "get along." They may have been on to something. It seems that ants that "get along" have made a good start on taking over the world. In just the past hundred years, exceptionally peaceful Argentine ants have spread as far as California, Australia, and the Mediterranean.
Most ants defend their territories from strangers--even if those strangers are relatives. The infamous fire ant, for example, rips apart everything in its path. The Argentine ant, when it lives in Argentina, behaves much like the fire ant. Any ant that is not from its colony is dead chitin. But once these tiny ants leave home, its a different story. They lose their aggression against their own kind to the extent that peace reigns even when ants from different colonies are foraging for food in the same location.
For some time, scientists have speculated that the Argentine ants' peaceful nature has played a role in their remarkable success. Recently, a California researcher was able to test that premise. The scientists built 22 pairs of colonies of equal size. The only difference between colonies was that some were from the least agressive nests and some were from the most aggressive nests. Then the scientists ran tubular paths from pairs of colonies to a common feeding area.
The most agressive ants started killing each other almost immediately. Some colonies even posted "guards" at the entrance to the feeding area to keep out ants from the opposing nest. In the peaceful pairs, however, life was quite different. These ants were able to "get along." As a result, they spent almost all of their time foraging for food.
After two months, the researchers counted the ants and eggs in each colony. The peaceful colonies had grown significantly larger than the war-like colonies. In some cases, they were almost twice as large! It appears that the Argentine ants owe their success to a simple strategy: While aggressive ants spend their time fighting their enemies, the Argentines spend their time feeding their friends.
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Mutual Non-aggression Pact May Aid Ant Spread
This fact-filled article comes from the Ant Colony Developers Association, the definitive source for ant enthusiasts.
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