| I wouldn't say they don't have the time or resources. At any given point there are a fair number of ants that are effectively waiting in reserve for something that requires their attention. Don't get me wrong, it's quite impressive. Still, considering how fastidious ants are about cleaning in and around their nests* it's quite feasible one or more colonies might take to disposing of seeds in a way that lets the seeds grow and/or pick up on the habit of dumping waste products on the seedlings which the plants then use as fertilizer. One thing that shouldn't be ignored is that it could work the other way as well. Maybe a seed was made one day that carried chemicals which caused the ants to plant it and/or poop on it. There's evidence of this sort of thing with moths whose young emit chemicals causing the ants to carry them back to the nest and feed them until they reach adulthood and fly off. And there's the infamous "zombie ant" fungus. Again, the ants probably don't "know" or "care" in any intellectual sense whether it will work, it's simply an idiosyncrasy they picked up. I imagine there are plenty of strange activities ants are evolving to pick up right now that will or wont work to make them more fit to survive. * The next time you see an ant hill note how well maintained and free of surrounding debris it is. |