Slave rebellion is widespread in ants

reply to post by AnotherSon

I find this hypothesis fascinating and look forward to reading the full source.

You'll find a link to it in my first post in this thread.

What about this hypothesis: The slave ants are weeding out the slavemaker pupa that lack the qualities of a good slavemaker? Perhaps they are killing the weeklings for a stronger colony rather than revolting against their overlords.

What an interesting idea. How might the slave species benefit from doing this? I suppose it depends on what you mean by 'a good slave-maker'. What, if any, benefits do the enslaved ants gain from their servitude? Could these benefits be increased or enhanced by selective breeding applied to the slavers?

Originally posted by Astyanax
reply to post by MrInquisitive

 

You appear to have forgotten Danton.

Didn't forget about him. Was never aware of him until your kind post. Thx for sharing.