Ants adjust their tool use strategy in response to foraging risk

1. Ants are among a few invertebrates that can use certain tools. For example, some ants can use debris and soil grains to transport liquid food. Although there has been evidence showing that ants can select the most efficient tools in transporting liquid food, little is known about their flexibility in using a specific tool under environmental pressure. 2. Black imported fire ants, Solenopsis richteri Forel, can use sands as a tool for foraging. We hypothesized that S. richteri can adjust their strategy of tool use in response to various foraging risks. The hypothesis was tested by studying their sand use behavior in response to sugar water with different drowning risks. 3. The results support our hypothesis. S. richteri indeed adjusted their strategy of tool use in response to increased drowning risks. Due to their hydrophobic cuticle, S. richteri can float on water surface to forage directly with the minimal risk of drowning. However, when the drowning risk was elevated by reducing t...

1. 蚂蚁是少数能够使用特定工具的无脊椎动物之一。例如，部分蚂蚁可借助碎屑与土粒转运液态食物。尽管已有研究证实蚂蚁可在液态食物转运过程中选择最优工具，但学界对其在环境压力下使用特定工具的灵活性仍知之甚少。
2. 黑头进口火蚁（Solenopsis richteri Forel）可将沙子作为觅食工具。本研究提出假设：该火蚁会针对不同觅食风险调整工具使用策略。我们通过观测其在不同溺水风险的糖水环境中的沙子使用行为，对该假设进行了验证。
3. 研究结果支持上述假设。黑头进口火蚁确实会随着溺水风险升高而调整工具使用策略。由于体表具有疏水外骨骼，该火蚁可漂浮于水面直接觅食，溺水风险极低。然而，当通过降低[原文未完整表述]以升高溺水风险时