Comportement desFormica devant un obstacle «infranchissable»

Summary

Formica polyctena can send information along their path about an obstacle. A simple mechanism (abnormal workers agitation) help the ants to find another way behind the obstacle.Formica rufa can dig a tunnel under a large circular wall that blocks all accesses to the nest. They can also open a hole in the wall, passing building materials through. These materials can be carried also underground, to repair the central part of the nest whose access is blocked. That is another proof of the extreme plasticity of the building activity among red ants.