If you wanted to find a topic in the world of science that would never run out of new and interesting discoveries, that easily could be ants.
Research from Gutenberg University Mainz shows that ants such as the species Temnothorax longispinosus can be enslaved by another species called Protomognathus americanus. The workers of this second species attack a nest, kill all the adult ants and kidnap the offspring. The kidnapped ants are forced to feed and clean the ant larvae of their slave masters. They basically have to raise the children of their oppressors.
If you don't mind paying, the full scientific article can be read here if you prefer that to my simplified summary. I found a summary of the paper on io9. So yeah, my summary is a summary of a summary. It reminds me of the movie Multiplicity.
Research from Gutenberg University Mainz shows that ants such as the species Temnothorax longispinosus can be enslaved by another species called Protomognathus americanus. The workers of this second species attack a nest, kill all the adult ants and kidnap the offspring. The kidnapped ants are forced to feed and clean the ant larvae of their slave masters. They basically have to raise the children of their oppressors.
The most interesting part of the study is that the slave ants protest their slavery by killing the young they are raising. When the start to pupate, they give off a chemical signal. The slave figures out that it is the symbol of a foreign ant and tear apart the baby ants. There is no benefit for the slaves to do this, but they actually can benefit their own species as the slaver colony grows at a slower rate.
If you don't mind paying, the full scientific article can be read here if you prefer that to my simplified summary. I found a summary of the paper on io9. So yeah, my summary is a summary of a summary. It reminds me of the movie Multiplicity.
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