Do ants ever sleep?

Asked by: Paul Bachelor, by email

Ants definitely rest - in any given colony there will always be some individuals that are standing still, not doing anything. Ants are also inactive in cold temperatures and many species hibernate through the winter.

Resting ants exhibit loss of muscle tone and reduced sensitivity to stimuli. But they don't have a complex enough nervous system to exhibit the different brain wave patterns seen in humans during sleep; nor do they dream.

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