Dobrzański J, Dobrzańska J
Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 1975;35(3):299-309.
Carrying heavy objects is a common element in the foraging and building behavior of ants. The initial stages of this behavior, i.e., lifting and moving in T. caespitum displayed as stereotyped patterns of movement. These patterns do not improve as the ants become older and more experienced, which suggest their congenital nature. Growing experience of ants is manifested in the later stages of the transportation of heavy objects, and especially in entering the correct opening of the nest with the carried prey. When a foraging ant leaves its nest to return to the prey it initially moves in the general direction of its objective. It is not until a certain distance from the nest is reached, that the ant is able to use olfactory stimuli to locate and follow its previous path. These observations indicate that the representatives of this species do not learn an exact way to and from the nest but instead have a memory for direction. The congenital character of these basic elements of foraging and building behavior allows the existence of a social organization without a division of work and foraging areas.
搬运重物是蚂蚁觅食和筑巢行为中的一个常见要素。在草地蚁的这种行为的初始阶段，即举起和移动重物时，表现为刻板的运动模式。随着蚂蚁年龄增长和经验增加，这些模式并不会改善，这表明它们是先天性的。蚂蚁不断增长的经验体现在搬运重物的后期阶段，尤其是带着捕获物进入正确的巢穴开口时。当一只觅食的蚂蚁离开巢穴返回猎物时，它最初朝着目标大致方向移动。直到离巢穴有一定距离时，蚂蚁才能利用嗅觉刺激来定位并沿着它之前的路径返回。这些观察结果表明，该物种的蚂蚁并不是学习往返巢穴的确切路线，而是具有方向记忆。觅食和筑巢行为这些基本要素的先天性特征使得社会组织在没有分工和觅食区域划分的情况下得以存在。
