TY - JOUR

T1 - Myrmica rubra ants are more communicative when young

T2 - Do they need experience?

AU - Atsarkina, Natalia V.

AU - Panteleeva, Sofia N.

AU - Reznikova, Zhanna I.

N1 - (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

PY - 2017/5/1

Y1 - 2017/5/1

N2 - The role of experience in the development of communication in animals is a matter of special interest to many ethologists and psychologists. Ants are known to possess sophisticated and flexible communication systems based mainly on their antennal movements (Reznikova & Ryabko, 2011). However, it is still enigmatic whether young ants need stimulation performances by adults to develop their communication capacities. Experiments with pairwise interactions of Myrmica rubra ants revealed significant differences in individual behavior and the mode of communication in callow (newly emerged) and adult workers. Adult ants are much more mobile than callow ones, and they switch their behavior depending on what partner they interact with, whereas callows behave independently. Adults communicate with callows and queens much longer than with other adults. Both callows and queens seem to be rather attractive to adults, although in different ways. Adults pay close attention to callow ants and initiate prolonged antennal contacts with them, touching their bodies and not leaving them alone. Young (callow) ants appear to be more communicative than adults, and they are equally ready to communicate with each other and with adults. Antennal movements are slow and clumsy in young ants, and they often switch from communication to other activities. It is likely that patterns of antennal movements in callows change gradually. Peculiarities of the mode of communication enable us to speculate that young ants need prolonged contacts with adult nestmates to gain the experience of communication. Some parallels with the development of communication skills in vertebrate species are considered.

AB - The role of experience in the development of communication in animals is a matter of special interest to many ethologists and psychologists. Ants are known to possess sophisticated and flexible communication systems based mainly on their antennal movements (Reznikova & Ryabko, 2011). However, it is still enigmatic whether young ants need stimulation performances by adults to develop their communication capacities. Experiments with pairwise interactions of Myrmica rubra ants revealed significant differences in individual behavior and the mode of communication in callow (newly emerged) and adult workers. Adult ants are much more mobile than callow ones, and they switch their behavior depending on what partner they interact with, whereas callows behave independently. Adults communicate with callows and queens much longer than with other adults. Both callows and queens seem to be rather attractive to adults, although in different ways. Adults pay close attention to callow ants and initiate prolonged antennal contacts with them, touching their bodies and not leaving them alone. Young (callow) ants appear to be more communicative than adults, and they are equally ready to communicate with each other and with adults. Antennal movements are slow and clumsy in young ants, and they often switch from communication to other activities. It is likely that patterns of antennal movements in callows change gradually. Peculiarities of the mode of communication enable us to speculate that young ants need prolonged contacts with adult nestmates to gain the experience of communication. Some parallels with the development of communication skills in vertebrate species are considered.

KW - Antennal contacts

KW - Ants

KW - Behavior

KW - Communication

KW - Experience

KW - Ontogenetic development

KW - Behavior, Animal

KW - Animals

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85015158140&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1037/com0000067

DO - 10.1037/com0000067

M3 - Article

C2 - 28301172

AN - SCOPUS:85015158140

VL - 131

SP - 163

EP - 173

JO - Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)

JF - Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)

SN - 0735-7036

IS - 2

ER -