The Collective Mind of African Giant Ants

[Graybeard]

Great videos ....

I forgot to mention in my above post that the soldier termite is unable to feed himself and has to be fed by the worker caste.

The parasitic spores that infect ants and utilise them for their own purposes is also very interesting. For a long time I thought that this was a win/lose situation but now I am not so sure ....

Its the interplay and the results of symbiotic/parasitic interplay that defines life on this planet.

There are three possible outcomes in such a situation. lose-lose, win-lose, and win-win. Given a totally random result where the odds are 50-50 .... then eventually a beneficial relationship must develop. If the outcome is lose-lose then it is not beneficial. If the outcome is win-win then it is beneficial. but if the outcome is win-lose then this provides a benefit to at least one ..... so this gives a beneficial selection greater odds then a non-beneficial one.

So if parasites were the first step .... from the primitive algae, then already the system will start to evolve as beneficial to all players.

Don't know if I explained this very well .... but given a two-sided coin then life will proliferate or go extinct depending on the toss 50/50... but with the third option (win-lose (or parasitic)) the coin becomes weighted to favor the proliferation of life rather than its extinction, because the coin needs to be tossed again before the final result can be determined.

As each species behaviour interacts with that of other species then life becomes extremely complex in the interactions between parasitic and symbiotic ..... this breeds diversity and change to changing situations. Evolution absolutely requires diversity as its one and only requirement.

Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas,
and so on ad infinitum.

And the great fleas themselves, in turn,
have greater fleas to go on; While these again have greater still,
and greater still, and so on.

.... rotflmao.

I think the key to understanding life will come from understanding these complex relationships. I think that these same relationships (or at least their genesis) can now be shown in interactions between inanimate objects ... or at least those things we class as not living.

[labelwench]

I gather that the specialized development of large jaw types and phragmotic heads which provides methods which effectively block narrow termite tunnels against ant entry, also limit the ability of the soldier termite to attend to some of the other functions. It is in the interest of the rest of the colony to provide for these brutes, however, as they are expected to sacrifice their own life in defense of the colony, so I rather expect that a 'free meal' is not too much to ask. It's not as though they are lying on the couch, swilling beer and pizza or even enjoying the possibility of reproduction, lol.....

Here is another unusual ant-astic offering for those who find insects of interest.

[labelwench]

Driving home today, I listened to a fascinating discussion on the conduct of Wasps in dealing with Ants in New Zealand. The interactions between species is ever of interest to me and I recall that the Ants which were hanging around our home quite suddenly dispersed when the Paper Wasps became numerous last summer. As these Wasps are relatively benign toward humans, they are far to be preferred to the Ants, as Ants can be most damaging to one's gardening efforts and some species can be detrimental to one's home, and nearly impossible to evict should they become established in a dwelling constructed primarily of wood.

The appearing 'altruistic' conduct of the Wasps is likely more self-serving, as the article goes on to explain.

LiveScience.com livescience.com – Wed Mar 30, 7:10 am ET
What's a wasp to do when ants are ruining its picnic? Pick the little pests up and airdrop them out of the way, according to a new study.
That's the strategy of the common yellow jacket wasp when competing with ants for food, researchers report today (March 29) in the Journal of the Royal Society Biology Letters.
The wasp, also known as Vespula vulgaris, is native to the Northern Hemisphere, but has invaded temperate areas in the Southern Hemisphere, including New Zealand, where the drag-and-drop behavior was observed.
This is the first time wasps have been seen physically relocating ants in an attempt to compete for food, said study author Julien Grangier, a postdoctoral fellow at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. The unexpected flight, which leaves ants confused but usually unharmed, also reveals the invasive wasps' cleverness, Grangier said.
"Our results suggest that these wasps can assess the degree and type of competition they are facing and adapt their behavior accordingly," Grangier told LiveScience.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...QRjY29kZQNtb3N