What do ant queens dream about? - Printable Version +- Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum (https://www.scivillage.com) +-- Forum: Science (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-61.html) +--- Forum: Biochemistry, Biology & Virology (https://www.scivillage.com/forum-76.html) +--- Thread: What do ant queens dream about? (/thread-1535.html) |
What do ant queens dream about? - Magical Realist - Nov 5, 2015 "Which animals actually sleep? Many people seem to think sleep is restricted to vertebrates such as lizards, birds and primates. But actually, insects sleep as well! Ants, being insects, are very interesting for studying sleeping behaviour, as they live underground. Most ants get exposed to sunlight only very irregularly, so a sleeping rythm based on a photo period such as we do (e.g. sleeping while it’s dark, being awake while it’s light), would not be very useful. Because of their social and subterranean lifestyle, one might expect that sleep periods of ants are more dependent on the tasks at hand than on light/dark periods. This is indeed what Deby Cassill and collaborators found. Queens of the fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) have an average of 92 sleep periods per day, lasting for about 6 minutes each (for a total of 9.4h of sleep per day). Workers are very different from this, as they had 253 sleep episodes on average per day, each lasting about 1 minute, for a total of 4.8h sleep per day, meaning they sleep more often, but less long. Furthermore, at any time of the day, about 80% of the working force was actually working instead of sleeping…an efficient workforce indeed! One phase of human sleep is called REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. This is the phase where we ‘blink’ our eyes often, and it’s the phase where our dreams are the most vivid (the dreams you actually remember are had during this sleep phase). Funny thing is that ant queens show a similar behaviour when they’re fast asleep. Instead of their eyes, they twitch their antennae, resulting in so called ‘Rapid Antennal Movement’ (RAM) sleep. This begs the question…what do ants dream about?"===https://antyscience.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/what-do-ants-dream-of/comment-page-1/ RE: What do ant queens dream about? - C C - Nov 5, 2015 Apologies To Z For Alterations: "Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a larva, being fed by workers. I was conscious only of my non-reproductive and carefree life as a larva, unaware that I was a queen ant. Soon I awakened, and there I was, veritably my bloated, egg-filled self again. Now I do not know whether I was then an ant dreaming I was a larva, or whether I am now a larva, dreaming I am an ant. Between an ant and a larva there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things." --Master Zhuang Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?: "Ants. They don't feel period. [...] We're not born; we don't grow up; instead of dying from illness or old age we wear out like ants. Ants again; that's what we are. Not you; I mean me. Chitinous reflex-machines who aren't really alive." --Rachael (PKD) - - - - - - - Phillip K Dick Wrote:"I'm sorry, Mrs. Baty," Rick said, and shot her. Roy Baty, in the other room, let out a cry of anguish. RE: What do ant queens dream about? - Magical Realist - Nov 5, 2015 Ant queen on her dream: "I was attending Queen's college in my 2nd semester and I suddenly realized my antennae were missing. O..M..G! I began crawling thru the halls looking for them while all the other queens snickered and pointed at me. So embarrassing!" RE: What do ant queens dream about? - Magical Realist - Nov 12, 2015 Here's a sad fact: when an ant is taken from the hive and forced to live alone, his lifespan is cut 91%. Normally ants eat the predigested regurgitated food of fellow ants. But living alone, the ant will only store up food without ever eating it. The ant dies of starvation even though he has plenty of food. |