Czaczkes is quick to add, however, that we should be hesitant about "anthropomorphizing" - associating this behavior with human traits. Keeping most ant tunnels clean of waste is clearly a survival tactic as well, as it keeps potentially harmful microbial growth isolated to "toilet" areas.
So how was this determined? Colored poop, of course!
Czaczkes and his colleagues experimented with 21 small, lab-grown colonies of the common black garden ant (Lasius niger). These ants were selectively fed a sugar solution with either a red or blue dye that would color their feces (frass). And while foraging ants would often defecate outside, two months of nature calling quickly showed clear patterns of colored frass in the nests, which was pilled or collected in clear "toilet" areas.
Interestingly, the researchers note that not all colony species behave in this way. Honeybees, for instance, go to great lengths to remove feces from their hives, keeping their living spaces spick-and-span. Most ant species, including the black garden ant, likewise work to remove the deceased from their nest, ensuring that mortality rates remain low.
So why is the poop kept inside? The study authors aren't really sure, but they propose that it must offer some kind of benefit to the colony as a whole.
Of course, as it always is with new discoveries, much more work will need to be done.
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