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I suspect that observing multiple generations of ants would give the answers for those questions. My guess is that the 25% which are permanent idlers are the ol
by ivanca 11y ago
I suspect that observing multiple generations of ants would give the answers for those questions. My guess is that the 25% which are permanent idlers are the older ants (retired) or injured ones (permanently disabled)
- TomAnthony 11y agoYeah, I thought exactly the same thing. I think it is funny to say we are trying to learn how they do so well then to observe them and conclude some are just 'lazy' and 'never working'. More research required.
- restalis 11y agoBut the traditional thinking so far was, AFAIK, that ants are working diligently till they die, not till retire and get idle.
- ivanca 11y agoImagine an human whose work is do lift rocks, one day he no longer can't lift rocks, they always fall from his hands how could he do it until dead? Use the rock to crush him? That would be suicide not actually "working until dead". What I'm saying is that dead is a slow process for most beings, not a sudden event, therefore "working till death" is a silly concept.