See How Ants Build Bridges in Mid-Air With Just Their Bodies
Mar. 13, 2018 - There are an estimated ten thousand trillion ants on our planet. They weigh very roughly the same as all of humanity. Army ants exhibit complex social behaviors that require group cooperation to achieve success. New footage shows how these ants build bridges with their bodies. The lead ant will slow down when it reaches a gap. The rest of the colony will continue to build the bridge with their bodies until the gap is closed. With brains that weigh less than one-millionth as much as a human brain, it is not surprising that these ants communicate using just 10 to 20 signals. Unlike human language, these messages are all instinctual. This example of cooperation goes to show why ants are such successful survivors.
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Transcript
There are an estimated ten thousand trillion ants on our planet.
They weigh very roughly the same as all of humanity.
Army ants exhibit complex social behaviors that require group cooperation to achieve success.
New footage shows how these ants build bridges with their bodies.
The lead ant will slow down when it reaches a gap.
The rest of the colony will continue to build the bridge with their bodies until the gap is closed.
With brains that weigh less than one-millionth as much as a human brain, it is not surprising that these ants communicate using just 10 to 20 signals.
Unlike human language, these messages are all instinctual.
This example of cooperation goes to show why ants are such successful survivors.
