Do ants sleep

[interele]

I know this has got to the the stupidest question ever but ... II have an ants nest under my deck and at night they all disappear. Do they just go home and hang around in their nest or do they sleep ?

M

[weggiewabbit]

Are you on a ship?

Shiver me timbers!

[mandimoo]

i guess a silly question deserves a silly answer! (see above)

[lankeela]

No idea about the ants, but I do know that this is nowhere near the stupidest question ever asked on here!

[shylock73]

Do you mean `Decking` ...like in the garden?

[interele]

Yes, as in ants in my garden, however I would imagine that any nautical ants may have the same lifestyle ;-)

M

[Jillius]

Didn't Legend ask this question a few months ago ? It sounds familiar.

[wildwood]

I don't remember much of this but studies have been conducted in the USA on human sleep and the patterns have been compared with ant's sleep. I suppose this was done for some beneficial reason for some purpose but I can't for the life of me remember why.
It depends very much on the species but yes, some species sleep for up to 6 hours per day. This is not like human sleep, more like something that could be compared to a daydream in humans. Ants apparently have the largest brain of any insect.

This is not a stupid question at all, in fact it ranks in the top 10% as far as I'm concerned.

[figure]

Their disappearance is due to the hunt for food.

[HambonZ]

I have an "Ant Works" http://www.lazyboneuk.com/products/Antworks-an d-Antfarm.html and they certainly appear to take some type of break. Often just a single ant on its own (looking almost dead) and they certainly like to huddle together in a nest.

I reckon the reason you see them disappear at night is simply that it is too cold for them and it's warmer in their nest.