Title: The absence of social enhancement of digging in pairs of ants (formica lemani bondroit)
Abstract: The digging activity of isolated workers of Formica lemani was compared with the digging activity of the same ants working in pairs by a crossed-over matched-pair design. Digging activity was assessed from the amount of sand excavated by each isolated ant or each pair, from a continuous automatic record of their movements and from sample checks on each ant, which gave the frequency of digging relative to other categories of behaviour. Ants dug less sand in a 3-hr test period as a pair than as two solo workers. A principal reason for the reduced output of pairs was the shorter time they spent digging. The decrease in the relative frequency of digging in paired ants was largely balanced by the frequency of mutual grooming, behaviour impossible for solo ants.
Publication Year: 1972
Publication Date: 1972-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 13
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