Data from: Same length, different shapes: ants collectively choose a straight foraging path over a bent one

In socials insects, exploration is fundamental for the discovery of food resources and determines decision-making. We investigated how the interplay between the physical characteristics of the paths leading to food sources and the way it impacts the behaviour of individual ants affects their collective decisions. Colonies of different sizes of Lasius niger had access to two equal food sources through two paths of equal length but of different geometries: One was straight between the nest and the food source, and the other involved an abrupt change of direction at the midway point (135°). Both the food sources were discovered simultaneously, but the food source at the end of the straight path was preferentially exploited by ants. Based on experimental and theoretical results, we show that a significantly shorter duration of nestbound travel on the straight path, which rapidly leads to a stronger pheromone trail, is at the origin of this preference.

在社会性昆虫中，探索行为是发现食物资源的核心基础，同时也是群体决策的决定性因素。本研究探究了通往食物源的路径物理属性，与该路径对单个蚂蚁行为的影响方式之间的相互作用，如何影响蚁群的集体决策。实验以不同种群规模的黑毛蚁（Lasius niger）为对象，设置了两个等量食物源，并通过两条长度一致但几何结构不同的路径连接蚁巢与食物源：一条为蚁巢直达食物源的直线路径，另一条则在路径中点处存在135°的骤然转向。尽管两个食物源同时被蚂蚁发现，但最终蚂蚁会优先利用直线路径末端的食物源。结合实验与理论结果，本研究表明：直线路径上蚂蚁返回蚁巢的行进时长显著更短，这会快速形成更强的信息素轨迹，正是该觅食偏好的成因。