"Go to the ant, though Sluggard"

Aesop famously argues that ants are industrious. Compared to the Grasshopper who simply played all summer, for example, the ants worked hard storing away food for the coming winter. Indeed, in the Bible Proverbs admonishes "go the way of the ant, though sluggards, and follow her ways."

Well, now science has confirmed this! Seriously though, this article describes research I did on the seasonal and geographic patterns of fat (yes, fat) storage in ant colonies. It looks at how different physical and behavioral castes are employed to divide the labor of not only nutrient storage, but also defense within the dynamics of ant colonies.

Click the image of the Ant above for the PDF.