In future space travel space ships will be isolated for months, this could make it easy for various kinds of pests to spread over the ships.
Ants are carnivore and could help to contain such pests, especially in regions that cannot be accessed easily (behind cover panels, ...). I think about Leptothorax spp., with small colony sizes.
Are there any studies about the behaviour of ants in space?
There probably are reports about the behavior of ladybugs in outer space. Years ago, a group of Chilean schoolgirls suggested to NASA to take some ladybugs ("chinitas") into space, and the project was approved.
Thank you for your answer, Raul.
Do you know where one could read the result of the study?
I think there was work on fish and rats in space that showed that if they were raised there they failed to develop the ability to right themselves in gravity. Given that they live in granular environments and these are very gravity dependent, making their homes might be tough!
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