Anders Sandberg wrote:
I think ants can adapt very quickly; they seem to have switched from the
insect solution of fast reproduction and genetic change to the more
large animal solution of slower reproduction (of hives) and better
adaptation (as hives).
### And they can to some extent switch back, too - some species of ants can
switch between centralized hives with one queen (the slow-adaptor) and
groups of smaller, related colonies with multiple queens, capable of
exchanging DNA and evolving faster. It has been speculated that such a
transition can be triggered by increased environmental pressure, e.g. the
use of pesticides.
Rafal
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