Rehovot, Israel – In a breakthrough discovery, scientists have shown that longhorn crazy ants can anticipate obstacles and clear the way for sisters carrying large food items—without any individual understanding the task.

Researchers from Israel and Switzerland observed this forward-looking behavior at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In nature, they saw ants removing gravel in the path of their sisters moving bulky prey. This suggested a kind of intelligence emerging from the group’s simple actions.

“This is the first documented case of ants showing such forward-looking behavior during cooperative transport,” said Dr Ehud Fonio, lead researcher.

The team conducted 83 experiments on a supercolony using plastic beads to block the route and cat food pellets as prey. Ants consistently moved beads away from the route only when whole pellets were present, not crumbs.

Crumbs were easily handled by solo ants, but large pellets required teamwork. Workers used pheromone trails to trigger the clearing response. Some ants removed beads up to 50 millimeters away from the route, with one ant moving 64 beads in a row.

Obstacle-clearing sped up food transport dramatically. In tunnels filled with beads, passage took 18 times longer compared to clear paths.

The study found that ants didn’t need to see or touch the food. A single pheromone mark was enough to trigger the clearing behavior. Ants acted based on scent cues without knowing the purpose of their actions.

“This intelligent behavior happens at the level of the colony, not the individual,” said Dr Danielle Mersch. “Each ant follows simple cues, yet together they create a smart, goal-directed outcome.”

“Humans think ahead by imagining future events,” said Dr Ofer Feinerman. “Ants don’t. But their collective actions create results that appear planned. It’s awe-inspiring.”

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