The group of ants is responsible for spawning the same species

A group of lazy ants in the herd were given the task of laying eggs to make food for herds.

The two researchers Daniel Charbonneau and Anna Dornhaus at the University of Arizona, USA in the new study indicate the possibility of a group of lazy ants in Temnothorax rugatulus species that are responsible for laying eggs as food for individuals to work harder in the herd, New Scientist on 4/8 reported.

Ant assign tasks to different members in the board.(Artwork: Alex Wild).

Ant Temnothorax rugatulus builds a rock bottom nest in a forest in western North America. Most individuals are assigned daily tasks, but a group of ants are classified lazy because they seem to be doing nothing, according to the 2015 study of two scientists.

However, analyzing the structure and behavior of this ant group in the new study, Charbonneau and Dornhaus argue that the behavior of this ant group is different, not lazy and has a larger role in the herd."They are slower, more isolated in their communication networks and have the least behavior," Charbonneau said.

Lazy ants seem to be immature worker ants . The body tends to be more rounded, possibly as evidence of food storage in the gastrointestinal tract to share with others. It is possible that they carry more egg cells than other individuals to make nutritious food for the same type. Unfertilized egg laying behavior has been recorded in other ants.

According to Erik Frank at the University of Würzburg, Germany, there is a possibility of lazy ants to exist as a reserve force."There may be situations where a large number of groups need to protect the nest or replace a worker ant , " Frank said.

Charbonneau disagrees with this view. He has plans to verify the popularity of lazy ants in weaver ant colonies."The next thing to do is study the function and find an explanation of idle behavior in ant species to find out the main mechanism to create this behavior if any , " he said.