Photo: Bernard DUPONT
Fishhook ants are social insects that live in colonies of thousands of individuals. They have a caste system composed of workers, soldiers and a queen. The workers are responsible for foraging, nest-building and caring for the brood. The soldiers are larger and more heavily armed than the workers, and they protect the colony from intruders. The queen is the only fertile female in the colony, and she lays eggs that develop into new ants.
These amazing ants communicate with each other using chemical signals called pheromones. They cooperate with each other to achieve collective goals, such as finding food, building nests or defending against enemies. They exhibit division of labor, where different individuals perform different tasks according to their age, size or preference. They also exhibit self-organization, where complex patterns emerge from simple interactions among individuals.