#fotd1650

#1650: the ant Temnothorax albipennis sometimes needs to move its nest, and they use a magnificent process to choose a new site. they send out scouts who find possible sites, usually crevices. then they use tandem running to bring more ants to the new nest site, except they wait a little bit each time. the wait time is inversely proportional to how good the new nest site is - so if the new site is perfect they'll recruit ants immediately and if it's only just passable then they'll wait a while. ofc it also takes time to travel so further-away nests are also less favourable, which makes sense. eventually one of the nests will reach a critical threshold (measured by how often ants interact with one another) and when this happens, that means a high enough proportion of the colony has favoured a certain site, and the new nest has been chosen. it's insanely clever and efficient and gets the best result, yet no single ant orchestrates it. honey bees use similar processes i think, except with more waggling