The team,led by Inon Scharf and Susanne Foitzik from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany,wanted to find out how these socially complex insects reacted to intruders of different species.
To do this,they brought ant colonies into their laboratory.In the wild Temnothorax longispinosus inhabits forests across the northeast of the US,where leaves of trees fall annually in autumn.They nest in cavities(洞穴)of rotten leaves or sticks in the leaf litter.
“We introduced workers of four different ant species into the ant colonies,”Dr.Scharf explained.The first was an unfamiliar species—one that didn’t share the ant’s habitat.The second was from the same species and the third was a familiar competitor—a related species that did inhabit the same areas.Finally,the ants encountered the most dangerous intruder—the slavemaker ant.
Slavemakers invade other ant colonies and steal their brood,often killing the host queen and workers in the process.The enslaved workers emerge from the stolen host brood inside the slavemaker nest.They then carry out routine tasks for the slavemaker—tending the queen,raising the young and hunting for food.
When the little Temnothorax longispinosus ants encountered a slavemaker,they attacked it—biting and stinging.When they met less threatening opponents,they simply tried to drag them from the nest.
“It is surprising—they’re making a clear distinction,”said Dr.Scharf.“But it makes sense in terms of evolution.They don’t waste their energy responding aggressively to every single intruder.It’s logical to adjust their response to the threat.”
【2016届高三(牛津版)英语一轮复习课后达标检测22 Unit 3《The world online》】相关文章:
★ 四川省2016届高考英语一轮复习课时作业(44) Module 2 The Renaissance 外研版选修8
★ 2014届高考英语一轮复习课时作业(三十一)选修6Module 1《Small Talk》(外研版)
★ 【北师大版】2014届高考英语一轮复习指导课时作业:Unit 2 B卷 Word版含解析
★ 【三维设计】2017届高考英语(江苏专用)二轮复习课件:必修4 Unit 1《Advertising》
★ 【北师大版】2014届高考英语一轮复习指导课时作业:Unit 11 B卷 Word版含解析
★ 【北京专用】2014届高考英语一轮复习方案课时作业:必修3 Unit 2 Healthy eating
★ 2017届高考英语二轮复习书面表达限时测验:3(含解析)
★ 四川省2016届高考英语一轮复习课时作业(29) Module 5 The Great Sports Personality 外研版必修5
★ 2017届江苏省淮安市新马中学高考牛津译林版英语一轮复习活动单:模块7 unit 1《Living with technology》
★ 【北京专用】2014届高考英语一轮复习方案课时作业:必修1 Unit 5 Nelson Mandela
最新
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-24
2017-04-21
2017-04-21