https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_mill

Ant mill

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Phenomenon in which a group of ants march in a continuously rotating
circle

An ant mill is an observed phenomenon in which a group of army ants
are separated from the main foraging party, lose the pheromone track
and begin to follow one another, forming a continuously rotating
circle, commonly known as a "death spiral" because the ants might
eventually die of exhaustion. It has been reproduced in laboratories
and has been produced in ant colony simulations.^[1] The phenomenon
is a side effect of the self-organizing structure of ant colonies.
Each ant follows the ant in front of it, which works until a slight
deviation begins to occur, typically by an environmental trigger, and
an ant mill forms.^[2] An ant mill was first described in 1921 by
William Beebe, who observed a mill 1200 ft (~370 m) in circumference.
^[3] It took each ant 2.5 hours to make one revolution.^[4] Similar
phenomena have been noted in processionary caterpillars and fish.^[5]

[ ]

Contents

  * 1 In popular culture
  * 2 See also
  * 3 References
  * 4 External links

In popular culture[edit]

  * The phenomenon is the inspiration for the Lemon Demon song "
    Spiral of Ants".^[6]

See also[edit]

  * Information cascade
  * Feedback loop
  * Stigmergy
  * Woozle effect
  * Rat king

References[edit]

 1. ^ Delsuc F (2003). "Army Ants Trapped by Their Evolutionary
    History". PLOS Biology. 1 (2): e37. doi:10.1371/
    journal.pbio.0000037. PMC 261877. PMID 14624241.
 2. ^ Couzin ID & NR Franks (2003). "Self-organized lane formation
    and optimized traffic flow in army ants". Proceedings of the
    Royal Society B. 270 (1511): 139-146. doi:10.1098/rspb.2002.2210.
    PMC 1691225. PMID 12590751.
 3. ^ Beebe, William (1921). Edge of the Jungle. New York: Henry Holt
    and Co. pp. 291-294.
 4. ^ Surowiecki, James (2005). Wisdom of the Crowds. New York, New
    York, USA: Anchor Books. p. 40.
 5. ^ Schneirla TC (1944). "A unique case of circular milling in
    ants, considered in relation to trail following and the general
    problem of orientation". American Museum Novitates (1253): 1-26.
    hdl:2246/3733.
 6. ^ "Spiral of Ants, by Lemon Demon".

External links[edit]

  * Ant mill videos:
      + Crazy ants on YouTube
      + rare ants hormigas dando la vuelta on YouTube
      + Ants going in a circle : San Pedro, Peru on YouTube
      + Circulo de hormigas on YouTube
  * A software simulation of an ant mill (in Russian)
  * "Untitled (Superorganism)", an artwork based on ant mills


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  * This page was last edited on 20 January 2022, at 00:19 (UTC).
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