Research shows that caffeine increases the learning ability of ants, inspiring new strategies for managing invasive populations
Summary
A recently published study shows that Argentine ants are able to identify rewards more quickly when exposed to low and moderate doses of caffeine, suggesting better learning.
A new study proves it ants Adding caffeine to a sugar solution may help them locate their rewards faster than those without the compound, suggesting that caffeine increases learning ability.
The study was led by Henrique Galante, a computational biologist at the University of Regensburg, Germany. The publication was made Thursday (23), in the scientific journal cell.
To analyze the response of Argentine ants (Humble lineepitheme) to caffeine, scientists set up an arena the size of these insects in the laboratory on a sheet of printer paper.
A drop of sugar solution was placed on the paper to attract the ants. The solutions varied in terms of caffeine levels, some without the substance, others with low, moderate or high doses, all located in the same place.
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The study tested 142 insects, each tested individually four times. The researchers observed a 28% improvement in journey to goal with low doses of caffeine. With the intermediate dose it was 38%.
Ants that received doses of caffeine (low or intermediate) followed a more direct path to the sweet in each trial, which may suggest a apprenticeship from journey to reward.
With caffeine-free solutions they followed more extensive courses, without improvements over time. The study emphasizes that it’s not about making these animals move faster, but rather efficiently. There was no impact on the ants’ pace, but it reduced the revs needed to get there.
Furthermore, it turns out that larger quantities are not necessarily better. The lowest dose was 25 parts per million (ppm), similar to levels found naturally in some plants.
The moderate dose was 250 ppm, comparable to an energy drink, making them more effective. However, the highest dose of 2000 ppm resulted in death.
The goal of the study is to understand better approaches for controlling the Argentine ant, which is an invasive species.
Galante’s team is currently testing caffeinated baits in fields in Spain. The prospect is that the substance will increase the ants’ ability to know the location of the bait, which could help control the population with less pesticide use.
Source: Terra
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