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Ants have been talking for a long time
Although the study of ants can be interpreted to suit any political or philosophical argument it can fuel organisational imagination, write Rox Middleton, Liam Shaw and Miriam Gauntlett
ANCIENT KNOW-HOW, PLANNING AND TEAM EFFORT: (L to R) Bridge building; Fossil ant in Baltic amber, age about 50 million years, Eocene; Myrmecocystus ants storing nectar to prevent colony famine

COMPLEX multicomponent societies rely principally on communication. Researchers suggest that evidence of 100 million years of communication gives us a deeper insight into the evolution of ant sociality.

Emergent properties of groups occur when many things interact to produce effects that are not seen in the case of the isolated individual element.

From simple things like waves and crystals, to complex ones like swarms and consciousness, these effects are ubiquitous. 

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