Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants
Abstract Pheromone guidance of ant foraging activity is well described, but less is known about how the presence of inward ant traffic on the trail affects the behavior of naive nestmates and if these influences are dependent or independent of pheromone signaling. Here, we examined whether the flow...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02058-z |
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| author | Tomoko Sakiyama Yuka Wada |
| author_facet | Tomoko Sakiyama Yuka Wada |
| author_sort | Tomoko Sakiyama |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Pheromone guidance of ant foraging activity is well described, but less is known about how the presence of inward ant traffic on the trail affects the behavior of naive nestmates and if these influences are dependent or independent of pheromone signaling. Here, we examined whether the flow of foraging Lasius niger ants coming from a feeder influences the movements of naive nestmates traversing a pheromone trail. We used a device that permitted individual ants to travel from the nest to a feeder via a single bridge under four conditions; unidirectional inward ant traffic, where naive foraging ants contacted only colony members returning from the feeder along a pheromone trail; foraging following a pheromone trail without ant traffic; foraging with neither a pheromone trail nor ant traffic; foraging with bidirectional ant traffic, where naive ants encountered other ants moving both toward the feeder and returning on the pheromone trail. The time required by inexperienced ants to reach the feeder was shorter in the unidirectional condition (returning from the feeder) than the other three conditions. These findings suggest that specific cues can regulate the movement of pheromone-guide foraging by ants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-351fa7b062104b5a996536cf12103bb1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-351fa7b062104b5a996536cf12103bb12025-08-20T02:32:08ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-02058-zNaïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning antsTomoko Sakiyama0Yuka Wada1Department of Information Systems Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Soka UniversityDepartment of Information Systems Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Soka UniversityAbstract Pheromone guidance of ant foraging activity is well described, but less is known about how the presence of inward ant traffic on the trail affects the behavior of naive nestmates and if these influences are dependent or independent of pheromone signaling. Here, we examined whether the flow of foraging Lasius niger ants coming from a feeder influences the movements of naive nestmates traversing a pheromone trail. We used a device that permitted individual ants to travel from the nest to a feeder via a single bridge under four conditions; unidirectional inward ant traffic, where naive foraging ants contacted only colony members returning from the feeder along a pheromone trail; foraging following a pheromone trail without ant traffic; foraging with neither a pheromone trail nor ant traffic; foraging with bidirectional ant traffic, where naive ants encountered other ants moving both toward the feeder and returning on the pheromone trail. The time required by inexperienced ants to reach the feeder was shorter in the unidirectional condition (returning from the feeder) than the other three conditions. These findings suggest that specific cues can regulate the movement of pheromone-guide foraging by ants.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02058-zLasius nigerForagingPheromone trailsBidirectional flow |
| spellingShingle | Tomoko Sakiyama Yuka Wada Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants Scientific Reports Lasius niger Foraging Pheromone trails Bidirectional flow |
| title | Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants |
| title_full | Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants |
| title_fullStr | Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants |
| title_short | Naïve ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants |
| title_sort | naive ants reach a food source quicker when encountering returning ants |
| topic | Lasius niger Foraging Pheromone trails Bidirectional flow |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02058-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT tomokosakiyama naiveantsreachafoodsourcequickerwhenencounteringreturningants AT yukawada naiveantsreachafoodsourcequickerwhenencounteringreturningants |