Unbelievable: Ants Found to Mimic the Behavior of Self-Propelled Particles!
In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford have discovered a novel form of collective behavior in ants: large-scale particle-like mimics. In their experiment, the team found that when a large group of ants were placed in a confined space, they spontaneously formed a collective that acted like a giant particle. This “giant particle” moved around the space as a single unit, exhibiting motion similar to that of a self-propelled particle. The researchers believe this behavior has implications for understanding the behavior of other collective systems, such as flocks of birds and swarms of bees.
source: Phys.org