Ant rules for better highways

Anyone driving on a busy two lane highway knows how the traffic slows down whenever someone passes and other drivers must adjust their speed to accommodate this.  Leafcutter ants that form busy highways between their leaf source and the nest have figured out how to make everyone move with the greatest efficiency.  

One simple rule.  Do not pass.  It seems that dealing with a passing ant slows trail efficiency twice as much as simply following a slower ant.  

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/212/4/499

hat tip: Myrmecos blog.

Photo source: National Geographic:Roy Toft

The beginning

So, a blog going where?  Well, ants would be a good place to start and ecology would be a great path.  As we travel, perhaps we can look around at life in a satellite university campus embedded in an ever changing political landscape.