Ant Bridge from Below (IMAGE)

Princeton University

Ant Bridge from Below

Caption

Researchers from Princeton University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology report for the first time that the "living" bridges army ants of the species Eciton hamatum (pictured) build with their bodies are more sophisticated than scientists knew. The ants automatically assemble with a level of collective intelligence that could provide new insights into animal behavior and even help in the development of intuitive robots that can cooperate as a group.

Credit

Courtesy of Matthew Lutz, Princeton University, and Chris Reid, University of Sydney

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