Ants' Small Brains Enhance Planning

This is a Israel news story, published by Phys Org, that relates primarily to Frontiers news.

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crazy ants

Phys Org

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Science

Swarm intelligence directs longhorn crazy ants to clear the road ahead for sisters carrying bulky food

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Researchers from Israel and Switzerland have shown how "swarm intelligence" resembling advance planning can nevertheless emerge from the concerted operation of many of these tiny brains.

The researchers were inspired when they made a fascinating chance observation in nature: individual crazy ant workers used their mandibles to pick up and carry away tiny gravel pebbles near groups of workers cooperating to transport large insect prey.

This is the first documented case of ants showing such forward-looking behavior during cooperative transport.

More information: Ants engaged in cooperative food transport show anticipatory and nest-oriented clearing of the obstacles surrounding the food: goal-directed behavior emerging from collective cognition, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience ( 2025 ). DOI: 10.3389 /fnbeh.2025.1533372 Journal information: Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience Provided by Frontiers .

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