Battles among Ants Resemble Human Warfare (preview)

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Battles among ants can be startlingly similar to human military operations

By Mark W. Moffett ?| January 8, 2012?|

Marauder ants from one colony attack a member of a rival marauder colony, slowly tearing it limb from limb. Image: Illustration by John Dawson

In Brief

• Some kinds of ants live in tight-knit colonies containing thousands or millions of individuals that go to war with other colonies over resources such as territory or food.
• The diverse tactics these insects use in combat can be remarkably similar to human war strategies, varying according to what is at stake.
• The ants? capacity for warfare is enhanced by their unbreakable allegiance to their colony.

The raging combatants form a blur on all sides. the scale of the violence is almost incomprehensible, the battle stretching beyond my field of view. Tens of thousands sweep ahead with a suicidal single-mindedness. Utterly devoted to duty, the fighters never retreat from a confrontation?even in the face of certain death. The engagements are brief and brutal. Suddenly, three foot soldiers grab an enemy and hold it in place until one of the bigger warriors advances and cleaves the captive?s body, leaving it smashed and oozing.

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