In a world of Darwinian selfishness, it is comforting to find that there is still a place for teamwork. Ants, bees and even bacteria are amongst the many organisms that display sophisticated kinds of cooperative behaviour as a survival strategy. Putting many 'hands' to a single task such as foraging for food can be much more efficient than letting each individual fend for itself. Now scientists and engineers who seek efficient solutions to complex tasks are learning valuable lessons from insects.
Ants are a classic example of social insects, which work together for the good of the colony.
A colony of ants finds new food sources by sending out foragers who explore the surroundings more or less at random. If it finds food, a forager will return to the colony, laying a pheromone trail as it goes - a trail that other ants can follow back to the food. But this is not in itself a perfect stratagem. The successful forager does not know the most direct way back to the colony, and so there is a risk that it may send its colleagues on a circuitous route to the food. Indeed, colonies can sometimes get stuck on an unnecessarily long path.