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Two red wood ants F. pratensis Retz.
were carrying a locust leg to the nest. The largest part of the locust leg
happened to get stuck under a small, dry tree branch (which is very big and
heavy for an ant). Attempts to move thi obstacle were fruitless and ants left
the prey and started to wander around searching for something. We thought that
they had given up and had decided to find another prey (their behaviour was
similar to those ants who investigated the feeding spot). But we kept watching
the situation our patience was rewarded! Ten minutes later one of the ants came
back with a straw (which looked like a big stick to the ant). Ant put one end
of this stick underneath the dry branch at a sharp angle and pressed the
opposite end down using this construction as a lever! The other ant was pulling
the locust leg while the “inventor” was pressing on the lever. By doing this
several times, they released the locust leg and transported it to the nest
safely. These extremely clever hunters showed us an ant’s potential for
creative decision-making, planning actions, knowing simple natural laws, and
using tools.
