NewScientist (17 October 2015, paywall) comes up with a new caste of ants: robber ants. These specialize in stealing food from other ant colonies. But here’s where I start to goggle:
The thieving ants are not merely foraging ants that get their food from other colonies, says [Terrence] McGlynn [of California State University in Carson]. “When you watch thieves, they act like they’re working to avoid detection,” he says. “When disturbed, they’re more likely to freeze, and then move in the opposite direction. If you grab them, they drop their stolen food. Once they get in the clear, they scamper more quickly, while regular non-thieving foragers will hang onto their food, as they know it was rightfully acquired.”
OK, I suppose I could just take it as Dr. McGlynn anthropomorphizing inappropriately. In fact, I’m sure that’s right. But I couldn’t help but immediately speculate this might be evidence against free will – because how could something so bloody small have a sense of right and wrong?
Well, of course, if “right & wrong” has a survival characteristic – and it should – then it makes sense that it could be evolved into a genetically determined behavior.
But still … and it’s cool anyways.
