NEWARK, N.J., Aug. 11 -- New Jersey Institute of Technology issued the following news release:
In ant colonies, a single ant can be the catalyst for a wave of mob activity, launching brief bursts of coordinated movement involving hundreds or even thousands of swarming workers, according to new simulations from New Jersey Institute of Technology.
About three decades ago, biologists discovered that acorn ants in the species Leptothorax acervorum, Temnothorax allardycei, T. rugatulus, and T. rudis would periodically move together as one. Masses of insects in the colony suddenly surged into action and then subsided, seemingly at random intervals. Collective spikes of activity aren't exclusive to ants or other animals; schooling fish, fireflie...