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Sages through the ages have lauded ants as exemplars of industriousness, persistence and the virtues of collective effort. “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise,” counsels Proverbs 6:6-8, yet most of us focus on extermination, not inspiration, when we find ourselves in the company of these social insects. Stomping, poisoning, drowning and burning are among the measures people turn to as ant antipathy verges on anti-ant pathology.

Eric Cassell asks, “How did these complex programmed behaviors originate?” The question deserves a better answer than, “They evolved.”

Ants may appear to wander aimlessly, but some actually search for food and shelter in a more methodical way.

New research suggests that one species of rock ants search their environment in a methodical way

Most biologists have assumed that ants wander aimlessly around a new environment. New UArizona research suggests that at least one species of rock ant actually searches in a more methodical way.