Team of ants carrying a force sensor

A team of Aphaenogaster cockerelli foragers carrying an artificial load marked with fig paste to make it attractive to them. Deflections of the sensor arms reveal the forces exerted by each ant. This kind of data can explain how these leaderless groups manage to coordinate so well. In turn, the ants can inspire designs for collective transport by robots.

Team of ants moving a fig

When scouts of the desert ant Aphaenogaster cockerelli find an item too large for a single ant, they quickly organize a small team that lifts and carries it directly to their nest, thus evading more aggressive competitors. This impressive ability is not seen in most ant species, which instead exploit large items in place, cut them into small pieces, or mount much clumsier retrieval efforts.