Ants are agriculturalists but that doesn’t mean they possess all the tricks humans have got.
Researchers have found that some species of ant engage in fungi farming. They do everything from planting to harvesting. And they obviously eat them afterwards. Please do not mistake this for the way that we humans do farming. They are not as smart as we are. Nonetheless, it is quite a feat of cognition for the humble ant. Does it tell us that they possess consciousness? No. Why should consciousness come into the picture? What’s needed is cognition and an urge to eat fungi. Is it agriculture, as some biologists claim? Of course, it all depends on how you define agriculture. But you have to come up with a pretty restrictive definition with some unusual conditions not to allow ants their agriculture. Well done, them.
Link to article: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2346511-ants-have-evolved-to-farm-plants-on-at-least-15-separate-occasions/
You may also like to browse other ethology posts: https://www.thesentientrobot.com/category/ethology/
