A behavior seen among colonies of some ants has mystified scientists for more than 30 years. It’s their ability to suddenly burst into action, despite no leader telling the others when to start. What triggers this community call to action has remained a mystery — until now.
Colonies of acorn ants often spend long stretches resting quietly. It’s like everyone’s asleep. Then, points out a trio of researchers, “like a cascade of dominoes, a massive spike of activity sweeps through the nest.” It’s one example of what’s known as collective behavior. That trio — a biologist and two engineers — teamed up to explore what might serve as the alarm that tells everyone to wake up and get to work.
Since they couldn’t tap into the ants’ thinking, the researchers decided to model what they were observing. And to do this, they turned to math.
Their new computer model confirms that a single ant is all it takes to get things moving. Its motion k...
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