Adaptive decision-making by ants in response to past, imminent, and predicted adversity

Abstract

Many animals exhibit innate behaviours, which are often interpreted as hard-wired, reflex-like responses, particularly in insects. Among these behaviours, beacon-aiming--an approach towards dark areas or objects--is observed in many animals; however, its functional significance remains unclear, and some ant species do not exhibit it. Here we show that in one such species, Camponotus japonicus, the behaviour was triggered only under adverse substrate conditions, such as during the crossing of liquid-covered surfaces, regardless of the locomotor patterns like walking or swimming, or the mere presence of water, or when walking upside-down. Once initiated, beacon-aiming persists even under normal substrate conditions, as demonstrated by ants transitioning from water-covered to dry substrates suitable for comfortable walking. This behavioural flexibility indicates that the innate behaviour is not hard-wired but modulated by internal states. Furthermore, changes in internal states may serve adaptive decision-making, potentially allowing ants to prepare for future adverse conditions. The isolated ants on a water-surrounded platform gradually established an attraction to the direction of the beacon before ultimately swimming towards it. These findings suggest that beacon-aiming is regulated by internal states, especially anxiety-like states formed in response to past, imminent, and predicted adverse substrate conditions in ants.