Communal Nutrition in Ants: Strong Evidence for Creation | The Institute for Creation Research

Communal Nutrition in Ants: Strong Evidence for Creation

Evolutionary scientists have unwittingly obeyed the biblical command to “observe the ant” (Proverbs 6:6; 30:25), and they have found a few surprises.

One of the most intriguing and complex aspects of a communal insect species, like the ant, is the way in which the individual members work together to fill the needs of the group as a whole. One question has been how genetics and social hierarchy interact with the overall nutritional needs of the colony. In fact, social structure greatly complicates the colony’s nutritional regulation, which not only fluctuates according to colony growth and development cycles, but is also impacted by diverse environmental factors.

The tiny, seemingly simple ant precisely and efficiently meets these specific nutritional issues within the colony. For example, recent research has revealed that the amount of food entering the colony is very close to the exact amount that is needed to support the varying nutritional needs of its individual members.

This remarkable phenomenon has confounded evolutionists, particularly those who work with communal insect species. How could the small number of workers collecting food know the precise types and amounts of food to harvest? A recent study published in the journal Current Biology investigated the way communal nutrition was regulated in ants and discovered some startling results.1

The foraging strategy itself is a dynamic process that is adjusted as needed, providing the highest level of efficiency. The research also found that carbohydrate level needs are elevated in mature worker ants, but that developing larvae require extremely high protein levels. Thus, food gathering and processing is tailored to the food’s recipients, whether they need more carbohydrates or more protein. To support these specific needs, a feedback loop provides colony nutrition information via an instinctive informational processing mechanism, resulting in a foraging strategy that exactly matches the changing nutritional needs of the colony.

Remarkably, the complicated (qualitative and quantitative) communal information is used to formulate precise foraging and harvesting strategies in an organism that supposedly lacks advanced cognitive abilities. Just like the recently discovered ant trafficking programs that prevent insect traffic jams, these intriguing multi-level biological mechanisms are hard-wired into the ant genome and involve a complex network of functional gene modules.2 Trait-based genetic regulatory arrangements have been previously discovered in the model insect genome Drosphila (the fruit fly).3 These new discoveries are amazing testimonies to the intelligence of the powerful Creator who engineered these remarkable living systems.

References

  1. Dussutour, A. and S. J. Simpson. 2009. Communal Nutrition in Ants. Current Biology. 19 (9): 740-744.
  2. Thomas, B. Ant Algorithms Argue Against Evolutionary Origins. ICR News. Posted on icr.org February 17, 2009, accessed June 24, 2009.
  3. Ayroles, J. F. et al. 2009. Systems genetics of complex traits in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature Genetics. 41 (3): 299-307.

* Dr. Tomkins is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted July 8, 2009.

The Latest
NEWS
Dr. James S. Johnson Goes Home to the Lord
Dr. James S. Johnson, chief academic officer and associate professor of apologetics for ICR’s School of Biblical Apologetics (SOBA), joined his...

NEWS
Pluto’s Largest Moon Looks Young
When the New Horizons space probe captured images of Pluto and its large moon Charon as it flew by in 2015, conventional scientists were surprised by...

NEWS
55-Million-Year-Old Tree Frog…Is Still a Tree Frog
In the 1990s, Australian paleontologists discovered fossil frog bones during a dig in Murgon, Queensland.1 This new species of frog—Litoria...

NEWS
Pastor and Longtime ICR Supporter Dr. John MacArthur Now with...
Faithful ICR supporter and pastor Dr. John MacArthur went home to be with the Lord on Monday, July 14, 2025, completing his 86-year pilgrimage.1...

CREATION PODCAST
Setting Sights on Scopes: The Truth Behind the Infamous Monkey...
The Scopes Trial is one of the most famous court cases in American history, and this year marks its one hundredth anniversary. Often,...

NEWS
Did Earthworms Rewrite Their DNA to Survive on Land?
An earthworm news story was recently posted that openly questions Darwin’s gradual and slow evolutionary progress in the living world.1...

NEWS
Mysterious Erosion Confirms High Flood Boundary
Two separate research reports arrived at a similar conclusion.1,2 Both found an episode of mysterious erosion had occurred near the end of...

NEWS
A Uniquely Designed Air-Filled Sac Within Birds’ Lungs
Soaring birds are a majestic sight to behold, especially when they undergo such climbing and endless spiraling so effortlessly. Not surprisingly, evolutionists...

NEWS
Liberty and the Word of God
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” (Psalm 119:45). July 4th is called Independence Day here in our country because on...

NEWS
July 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome...