Have you ever thought about how, in a multi-cellular life form, the cells all exist for the continuation of the organism as a whole, dying and being replaced as needed while the organism lives on?
Aren't ant colonies kind of like that, too? The worker ants all exist to keep the colony running, and more are born as needed if some die. Some of them are even born to fulfill specific tasks, like that one species with a big head that blocks the colony entrance to act as a gatekeeper. Much like individual cells in a body may be part of an organ that's specialized in one task that keeps the whole functioning.
Are ant colonies, in a way, the next level in the chain of single-celled organism to multi-celled organism? A meta-organism made of multiple individual organisms that no less exist as a unit, a whole that the individual exists to keep functioning with, and without which the individual cannot live?
Aren't ant colonies kind of like that, too? The worker ants all exist to keep the colony running, and more are born as needed if some die. Some of them are even born to fulfill specific tasks, like that one species with a big head that blocks the colony entrance to act as a gatekeeper. Much like individual cells in a body may be part of an organ that's specialized in one task that keeps the whole functioning.
Are ant colonies, in a way, the next level in the chain of single-celled organism to multi-celled organism? A meta-organism made of multiple individual organisms that no less exist as a unit, a whole that the individual exists to keep functioning with, and without which the individual cannot live?