Response Threshold Model of Division of Labour in a Ponerine Ant

A simple response threshold model is used to explain a pattern of division of labour observed in the ponerine ant Ectatomma ruidum, where it was found that prey-foraging behaviour could be subdivided into two categories: stinging and transporting. Stingers kill live prey and transporters carry the dead prey's corpses back to the nest. The model can reproduce all the dynamical patterns observed in experiments by changing the same parameters as in the experiments.<p> <p> Proc. Roy. Soc. London B 265 (1998): 327-335.