Scientists Study the Evolution of Silk-Weaving Ant Behavior

Scientists are taking a closer look at silk-weaving ants, and have made a discovery that may change our understanding of how all creatures work together. Researchers have found that the insects could evolve and abandon and then re-evolve the practice of building nests from silk.

In its original form, the silk used by silk-weaving ants in nests comes from the ants own larvae. Yet in later stages, worker ants actually steal the silk from spiders. The common view in evolution is that simple systems gradually become more complicated over evolutionary time, and that it can be difficult for these complex systems to evolve further. In this latest study, though, researchers found otherwise.

"My research suggests a complex system can evolve relatively quickly, and that once it had evolved it then it was very flexible and plastic in an evolutionary sense," said Simon Robson, lead researcher, in a news release. "The complexity and intelligence of the system lies not in how clever individuals are, but how they actually communicate with each other."

The researchers found that a complex system is an intelligent and coordinated group behavior that works only because the individuals that comprise the group are themselves very simple. In fact, the study is the first to describe a complex group-level trait that did not arise through behavioral progression from simple to complex states.

"It suggests that while it may take a long time for a complex behavior to evolve, it can be lost, and partially regained, very quickly," said Robson. "It also shows there are alternative pathways that can be used to get to the same end. The evolutionary process has access to an almost unlimited tool kit of possibilities!"

The findings are published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Social Biology.

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