An ant farm in the laboratory gives scientists, George McGavin and Adam Hart, a unique opportunity to observe these fascinating creatures.
Going down the size scale, this small ant is called a media worker. These are the ants that collect and bring leaves back to the nest. Its serrated jaws are just the right shape for cutting into tough plant material.
Adam Hart and George McGavin discover how the queen lays up to 30,00 eggs per day and how the worker ants nurture the development of the different ant castes.
So the workers who feed the larva they are actually controlling the number of soldiers and worker castes produced within the colony.
The ant colony from Trinidad is placed in the artificial ant nest and the soldier ants are radio-tagged to monitor their movements.
It’s this kind of collective endeavour that has made ants so fascinating to us humans down the ages. During the Industrial Revolution, when factory life was transforming human society, the parallels were striking.
Professor Adam Hart travels to Trinidad where, with the help of Andy Stevenson, he locates a suitable ant colony for the experiment. Leafcutter ants are native to Trinidad.
The queen is huge compared to other ants, and she’ll be covered in smaller ants, who tend her.
By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.