If you are still curious, here’s another fun video of an ant spiral. An ant mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants are separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating circle, commonly known as a 'death spiral' because the ants might eventually die of exhaustion. For nearly two whole days these blind creatures, so dependent on the contact-odor sense of their antennae, kept palpating their uniformly smooth, odoriferous trail and the advancing bodies of the ants immediately preceding them, without perceiving that they were making no progress but only wasting their energies, till the spell was finally broken by some more venturesome members of the colony.Īccording to NewsFeed’s research, the death spiral was first noticed in army ants by T.C. I have never seen a more astonishing exhibition of the limitations of instinct. 'You'd think spiral-induced mortality would be selected against, that ants would have evolved a counter-measure to such obviously maladaptive behavior. A death spiral is a strange natural phenomenon in which a colony of ants essentially commits suicide by following each other in an endless circle until they die of exhaustion. Even then though, the possibility of escape remains low. What Is The Death Spiral Army ants are blind, but they can find food and move freely by following each other’s scent. This phenomenon typically occurs in army ants, where a sub-group separated from the main colony starts going in circles. The phenomenon was first observed in in insects in 1910 by the scientist W.M. It’s unlikely for ants to escape the death spiral, but it isn’t impossible.Much like how they start, external triggers such as strong winds or rain could break the loop. The ant mill (death spiral) Images courtesy of WikiCC. Now, you are undoubtedly asking, what exactly is going on here?Īn ant death spiral, also known as a circular mill, occurs when a pack of of army end up following each other’s smell around in a circle - many times only stopping when all of the members have died of starvation. You know you want to.īy the time you read this sentence you’ve probably watched the video. Death spiralling is the ant’s way of defending itself. This behavior is most often seen in carpenter ants, and is triggered by high levels of stress, such as being in a fight or being separated from their colony. You’re curious about what an “ant death spiral” is. Certain ants army ants in particular are known to get themselves stuck in an endless, swarming, ultimately-fatal loop. Why Do Ants Death Spiral When ants are in distress, they may engage in a behavior known as death spiralling.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |