Not All Ants Work Hard For Their Queen

It is not often that you see an ant relaxing on a pile of dirt. Ants are some of the hardest workers known to man, but there are a few lazy ones here and there. Researchers from the University of Arizona observed ant colonies up close, and found that many ants are different when it comes to how much effort they will put into working within their colony.

Via: http://images.techtimes.com/data/images/full/105429/lazy-ant.jpg

A single ant will fit into one of three different groups. The groups include “active,” “inactive,” “undifferentiated.” ants that are labeled “inactive” will simply lay around while watching other ants do all of the work. “Undifferentiated” ants will crawl around pretending to do work, but are really not chipping in to the group’s activities.

The researchers noted that the lazy ants tend to be larger in size, and will keep to themselves. Many theorists believe that the inactive ants are really more like “reserve” ants. The reserve ants will stand on the sidelines, and will only become involved in the colonies affairs when tasks become challenging enough to call for their assistance. It is likely that the inactive ants serve a purpose since they are not punished for their inactivity.

Do social insects living within colonies deal out punishments to certain individual insects that do not pull their weight within the colony?