Insect Colonies Operate as 'Superorganisms', New Research Finds

Insect Colonies Operate as 'Superorganisms', New Research Finds

www.sciencedaily.com

New A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Florida has shown insect colonies follow some of the same biological "rules" as individuals, a finding that suggests insect societies operate like a single "superorganism" in terms of their physiology and life cycle.

(visit the link for the full news article)

While it has been a subject of much research in the past how insects colonies operate as a single organism, it has never really been studied as to how the colony organism actually lives and dies.

I find this fascinating that they found an incredible similarity between how the colonies live, breed and die to the individual organisms themselves. The impac that evolution then ahs played on insect colonies may help explain how they have evolved such complex social structures.

It makes me wonder if you can measure human civilisations in the same way as they rise and fall.

www.sciencedaily.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

well, cities are kind of like our "hives", and the herd mentality shown by many could be called insect colony behavior. Now if we could just get some people to admit that some humans are "worker bees" plain and simple while others are better suited for other things. I guess the caste system offers this...

Originally posted by Shere Khaan

Insect Colonies Operate as 'Superorganisms', New Research Finds

www.sciencedaily.com

New A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Florida has shown insect colonies follow some of the same biological "rules" as individuals, a finding that suggests insect societies operate like a single "superorganism" in terms of their physiology and life cycle.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I don't remember who said it but someone suggested that every living organism is nothing but a biological structure governed like a robot by its genes. Genes in order to ensure their survival began to design many different types and that later became what we know as the evolution process of the species. It might be that these insect colonies are many bodies with a single brain. I wonder if science through genome research might achieve this for also the humans in the future. I would hope it rather not.

That reminds me of Starlings flocking:

acidcow.com...

I don't know how many have seen this spiffy video?

A colony of woodcutter ants is studied. The nest is filled with concrete, left to set and then excavated. The design is impeccable. Rooms are offset from tunnels for dumping rubbish. Vents are led up to the surface. It's 'collective will' in all it's beauty and wonder...



The ant city is stunning, but I bet the ants were pretty pissed off!

I do know Ants and Myceleum is the oldest known symbiotic relationship.

Now theres a little known fact for ya!

reply to post by Kandinsky


That was unfortunate for the ants nest, burying them in all that concrete, but an incredible result. Art and science meet up.

Originally posted by Shere Khaan
reply to post by Kandinsky

 

That was unfortunate for the ants nest, burying them in all that concrete, but an incredible result. Art and science meet up.

I once felt sorry for a single ant in the kitchen...little soldier looked lonely. I put a drop of maple syrup down. Next morning? Hundreds of the little critters had come to Kitchen Town. Stupid is as stupid does!

Although it's unfortunate that that colony in the vid was wiped out in the name of science...I wouldn't have it any other way. It doesn't matter. Ants have more biomass on Earth than all us humans.

In Europe, one vast colony of Argentine ants is thought to stretch for 6,000km (3,700 miles) along the Mediterranean coast, while another in the US, known as the "Californian large", extends over 900km (560 miles) along the coast of California. A third huge colony exists on the west coast of Japan. While ants are usually highly territorial, those living within each super-colony are tolerant of one another, even if they live tens or hundreds of kilometres apart. Each super-colony, however, was thought to be quite distinct.

But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony.

Ant mega-colony takes over world

Ever look at the head of a Grey?

Makes you wonder where they are from and what they might be doing with us atm...

Just Sayin...