Natures wonders: these ants play possum (Introduction)

by David Turell , Saturday, May 13, 2023, 19:10 (342 days ago) @ David Turell

They avoid trouble by playing dead:

https://www.sciencealert.com/mouse-study-reveals-unlikely-connection-between-menthol-an...

"Accidentally discovered as researchers were checking pygmy-possum and bat nest boxes on Kangaroo Island, a colony of Polyrhachis femorata ants appeared to be dead… until one moved.

"Researchers believe the ants were 'playing dead' as a defensive strategy to avoid potential danger.

"Published by CSIRO, this is the first time that a whole colony of ants has been recorded feigning death, and the first record of the Polyrhachis femorata ant species for South Australia.

"Wildlife ecologist, UniSA's Associate Professor S. 'Topa' Petit, says she was surprised to discover a colony of what appeared to be dead ants in one of the nest boxes.

"'The mimicry was perfect," Assoc Professor Petit says. "When we opened the box, we saw all these dead ants…and then one moved slightly.

"'This sort of defensive immobility is known among only a few ant species -- in individuals or specific casts -- but we don't know of other instances when it's been observed for entire colonies.

"'In some of the boxes containing colonies of Polyrhachis femorata, some individuals took a while to stop moving, and others didn't stop. The triggers for the behaviour are difficult to understand."

"Assoc Prof Petit says that nest boxes may present an opportunity to study the ants' death-feigning behaviours, which are of great interest to many behavioural ecologists investigating a diversity of animal species.

"The discovery was made during the Kangaroo Island Nest Box Project, where 901 box cavities have been monitored across 13 diverse properties as part of wildlife recovery efforts following the devastating 2020 bushfires."

Comment: still not well studied, being so recent. Not surprising, since opossums are so well known.