Ants in the genus Temnothorax are a model organism in the study of complex systems.

Ants in the genus Temnothorax are usually physically tiny - with relatively few individuals in a colony (often less than 200 individuals). This small number for a mature colony - makes them a valuable for animal behavior researchers - as we can paint them all with unique colors and track every single ant in the colony. Without any leader, how do these small colonies engage in collective behavior such as choosing a new nest or food resource?
A model 'Complex System'
An entire temnothorax ant colony can fit inside an acorn or a rock cavity - and yet it is a complete eusocial society - a living 'super-organism'.
Temnothorax ants were introduced to me by my graduate advisor, Professor Stephen Pratt - and with him and our collaborators I have greatly enjoyed teasing out some of the mysteries of these tiny societies.
Not your typical ant communication: introducing the tandem run
My dissertation work explored how individuals and colonies of temnothorax ants collectively choose the most profitable food resource (sugar water). Given a choice between feeders of unequal quality (0.8 versus 0.1 Molar Sucrose sugar water), colonies are able to allocate more foragers to the better food source. How does this happen? We considered a lot of factors but in the end it came down to a rather simple explanation: foragers were more likely to recruit (lead a tandem run) and less likely to give up on foraging when the food source was more profitable (ie, sweeter). These two simple factors led to the 'collective decision', namely more ants turning up at the sweetest puddle of sugar water.
A Magic Well
“The bee's life is like a magic well: the more you draw from it, the more it fills with water” - Karl Von Frisch
Karl Von Frisch famously described honey bees as a 'magic well' - where the more you drew from it, the more it offered. Temnothorax ants are also a magic well for researchers interested in a number of questions ranging from the mysteries of collective behavior, social parasitism, and communication.
Ongoing work
Working in collaboration with Stephen Pratt, Ted Pavlic, Takao Sasaki, and others I continue to investigate the mysteries of temnothorax ant collective behavior.
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