List of Headings
- i The effect of man-made imitations on insects
- ii The need to instruct additional insect guides
- iii Signals used by certain insects to indicate a discovery
- iv How urgency can affect the process of finding a new home
- v The use of trained insects in testing scientific theories
- vi The use of virtual scenarios in the study of insect behaviour
- vii How the number of decision-makers affects the decision
Passage
Drag a heading to each paragraph.
1. It has long been held that decisions made collectively by large groups of people are more likely to turn out to be accurate than decisions made by individuals.
2. Among the bees that depart are some that have searched for and found some new nest sites, and reported back using a characteristic body movement known as a waggle dance to indicate to the other bees the suitable places they have located. The longer the dance, the better the site.
3. But exactly how do bees reach such a robust consensus? To find out, Dr List and his colleagues used a computer generated model of the decision-making process.
4. By manipulating the robotic cockroaches, which were in the minority, Halloy was able to persuade the living cockroaches to choose an inappropriate shelter—even one which they had rejected before being infiltrated by the robots.
5. If the ants' existing nest becomes suddenly threatened, the insects choose certain ants to act as scouts to find a new nest. How quickly they accomplish the transfer to a new home depends not only on how soon the best available site is found, but also on how quickly the migration there can be achieved.