What can you tell about an ant by their body posture and position? I've read that if an ant has the antenna folded they are likely sleeping. (is this true? Is my Camponotus pennsylvanicus queen just sleeping 8 hours a day?)
Waving antenna are alarm, curiosity or searching.
Open mandibles or abdomen tucked forward are defensive, attack poses.
Some ants (notably camponotus discolor, and pennsylvanicus) will tuck in their legs, and press their body low to the ground, ideally in a crack, staying perfectly still when they are scared.
Pogonomyrmex never seem to do this. The more upset they are the more they "boil" running and rearing up, climbing on each other and also calling more ants making total chaos.
Formica sp. will do the "freeze to hide" things AND will "boil" if provoked.
Lasius ants will do a kind of body twitch when alarmed.
What ant "body language" have you noticed?
