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Noticed this behaviour of Weaver ants in Kabini where I observed a lot of ants carrying larvae, paralysed worms and other adult ants (like in the image attached). The ones being carried were very much alive. I can only assume that the ant here was either incapacitated or picked up by mistake. Any light on this behaviour?
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
SS 1/640
f/2.8
ISO 1600
Weaver ants (and a few other ant species, but not all) exhibit a kind of recruitment behaviour during expeditions wherein workers will actually carry other workers to a place or situation requiring attention. I guess this is because weaver ants do not have distinct specialised "soldier" forms in the colony, unlike many other species (most of the work including colony maintenance, foraging and defense is divided among a single worker caste).
Great to see this behaviour documented photographically. TFS.
Nice behavior photographed. Good details. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Abhishek for the detailed information.
Nice image and record of ant behaviour. thanks for the info Abhishek
TFS
Roopak