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• Autor(a) principal: Rodrigues, Maria Margarida Pereira
• Data de Publicação: 1991
• Outros Autores: Ribeiro, Fernando Leite
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Biotemas (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/biotemas/article/view/22852

The effect of social conditions on the digging behavior of worker ants in small groups was studied. The workers were tested either alone or in small groups in exprimental boxes provided with soil and food. During 5 days the amount and depth of tunnels were recorded. Regardind tunnel lenght, it has been observed that the mean per capita outcome of groups animals is better than that of single worker ants, though the difference is not statistically significant. The amount of tunnels has not increased regularly as the number of animals in the groups increased. This digging concentration is probably a sign of social organization and perhaps results from an attraction that already-begun tunnels have on worker ants.