Description

Introduction
The Ant T-maze is utilized to assess ants’ social, spatial, and cognitive behaviors. While the T-maze is traditionally employed to study spatial and cognitive behavior in rodents, it can also be adapted for ant colonies, allowing the observation of communication behaviors as they occur in their natural habitat.
Communication is essential for behaviors requiring cooperation among individuals, such as nestmate recognition, mating, and foraging. Consequently, studying interactions within insect colonies has garnered significant interest. Unlike humans, who rely on spoken language, insects communicate through advanced motor displays, like the waggle dance in bees, or through odor cues, such as pheromone trails.
The Ant T-Maze facilitates investigations into ants’ communicative behaviors, particularly the hypothesis that ants transfer directional information via antennation. The apparatus consists of two T-shaped mazes placed on a slider. The maze starts at the stem, with the two arms at the T head serving as goal/reward arms. This dual T-Maze setup provides visually similar but distinct information environments to evaluate the communication behaviors of ants from the same colony.
Other mazes used in studying insect behavior include the Bee Radial Arm, Bee Reward Expectation Apparatus, and Drosophila Y Maze.
Apparatus and Equipment
The Ant T-maze features a stem measuring approximately 150 mm in length and 5 mm in width, while the head is 220 mm long and 20 mm wide. It is linked to the ant nest via a communication arm that is around 80 mm long and 50 mm wide. An additional path, known as the buffer, measuring 80 mm in length, is situated between the communication arm and the T-maze. Both the communication arm and the buffer are detachable. The T-maze is also connected to a second T-maze of identical dimensions through a slider mechanism.
Training Protocol
Ensure the device is cleaned before, after, and between uses. Illuminate the maze with overhead lights to avoid shadow formation. Utilize a tracking system like Noldus EthoVision XT for observing and recording subject movements. Although optional, the use of disposable sheets inside the apparatus is recommended to minimize the impact of pheromone trails on the experiment.
Data Analysis
The following data can be analyzed using the T maze:
- Time to reach the goal arm after making contact with informed ant.
- The number of times naĆÆve informed ants turned around after making contact with informed ants.
- Correct/Incorrect decision made by naĆÆve informed ants
- Time spent in the reward arm by informed ants and naĆÆve informed ants.
- Time spent in the non-reward arm by naĆÆve informed ants.
- Ant Order: The order in which the ants were tested.
Strengths and Limitations
Summary
- The Ant T-maze is used to study the spatial and cognitive behavior among insects especially in terms of their tactile communication behavior.
- The T-maze is connected to another T-maze via a slider.
- The flexibility of using a removable communication arm and a buffer arm makes it easy for informed ants and naĆÆve ants to come in contact with each other.
References
Popp, S., Buckham-Bonnett, P., Evison, S.E.F., Robinson. E. J. H., Czaczkes. T. J., (2017). No evidence for tactile communication of direction in foraging Lasius ants.Ā Insectes Sociaux. 65(1). PP 37-46 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-017-0583-6