Data from: Ants show a leftward turning bias when exploring unknown nest sites

Behavioural lateralization in invertebrates is an important field of study because it may provide insights into the early origins of lateralization seen in a diversity of organisms. Here, we present evidence for a leftward turning bias in Temnothorax albipennis ants exploring nest cavities and in branching mazes, where the bias is initially obscured by thigmotaxis (wall-following) behaviour. Forward travel with a consistent turning bias in either direction is an effective nest exploration method, and a simple decision-making heuristic to employ when faced with multiple directional choices. Replication of the same bias at the colony level would also reduce individual predation risk through aggregation effects, and may lead to a faster attainment of a quorum threshold for nest migration. We suggest the turning bias may be the result of an evolutionary interplay between vision, exploration and migration factors, promoted by the ants' eusociality.无脊椎动物的行为偏侧化是重要的研究领域之一，因其可为探究多种生物所呈现的偏侧化现象的早期起源提供关键洞见。本研究报道了阿尔比皮氏切胸蚁（Temnothorax albipennis）在探索巢腔与分支迷宫时表现出左侧转向偏好的证据，且该偏好最初会因趋触性（即沿壁爬行）行为而被遮蔽。沿任一方向保持稳定转向偏好的前进行进，是一种高效的巢穴探索策略，同时也是面对多方向选择时可采用的简易决策启发式方法。若蚁群整体也呈现相同的转向偏好，还可通过聚集效应降低个体的被捕食风险，并可更快达到巢群迁移所需的群集阈值。我们提出，该转向偏好可能是视觉、探索与迁移因素间进化互作的结果，而切胸蚁的真社会性推动了这一互作过程。