Logical Reasoning

PT108 · S2 · Q7 When an invading insect threatens

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When an invading insect threatens an ant colony's territory or food sources, the ants will vigorously swarm over the invader, biting or stinging it.

Facts

Ants attack invaders that threaten the colony or its food.

Ants can even do this to aggressive flying bugs like wasps.

Ants don't attacke all bugs.

Riodinid caterpillars are a favorite prey for wasps, but ants eat their secretions and live with them in harmony in South America.

Evaluate

Claims 2 and 4 both deal with wasps. If ants protect their food sources from wasps and these caterpillars are a food source for the ants, maybe the ants protect the caterpillars when the wasps try to eat them?

7.

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above?

  1. The secretions produced by riodinid

    Too Strong (chemically identical) / Unsupported Comparison

    We have no info about the secretions other than the ants like to eat them, and no info on plant secretions whatsoever.

    6% picked this

  2. South American ants are more

    Unsupported Comparison

    We have no info about South American ants vs ants elsewhere.

    2% picked this

  3. With the sole exception of

    Trap

    Too Strong (sole exception / any other organism) It's pretty well supported that the ants would attack the wasps for trying to eat the caterpillars because we're told that ants would attakc other bugs, even agressive flying ones. But we can't extend that to any other organism. We have no reason to believe ants would even be capable of attacking a non-insect organism like a bird or a mammal.

    5% picked this

  4. Among insect species that inhabit

    Trap

    Too Strong (the only kinds of organism other than) Classic trap alert: just because something is the only thing we mentioned with a quality doesn't mean that it's the only thing that has that quality. Yes, wasps are the only other predator mentioned, but that doesn't mean they're the only other predator.

    1% picked this

  5. Correct

    Riodinid caterpillars in South America

    Why this is right

    Tricky, but a pretty well supported comparison. If we infer that the ants probably attack the caterpillar-eating wasps, it follows that the caterpillars living with ants are less likely to be wasp attacked than those living in places with no ants to defend them.

    Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    85% picked this

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