The role of individualism during collective transport by ants

Cooperative groups often exhibit capabilities that exceed those of their individual members On the other hand effects such as excessive conservatism can degrade group performance This talk will present the conflict between the group and the individuals that comprise it in the context of cooperative load retrieval by longhorn crazy ants This behavior relies on the group to exert a large enough force to move the large load but also on the individuals to navigate the motion We show how the ants utilize the physics of a phase transition to accentuate the advantages of both the individual and the group Refreshments are served at 3:20pm