Skinny searchers keep fat ants full

Insect-sized garage-door openers help researchers uncover colony foraging strategy

Using tiny key cards glued to ants’ backs, researchers have figured out how colonies manage their food stores: A body weight–based strategy determines who’s doing the hunting and when.

A worker ant (Temnothorax albipennis) carrying an electronic tag — about one-third of the ant’s weight — lets researchers track and control movement out of the colony’s nest.