Nicolas CHALINE " How does individual expert influence collective knowledge in foraging ants "

One of the advantages of social life is the possibility of sharing knowledge about the biotic and abiotic environment, allowing for collective responses modulated by the internal and external context of the group. However, in most species, this knowledge is not concentrated in an individual or group of informed individuals who decide centrally on the group's behavioural decisions. Cognition is diffuse and often built on local interactions, in a similar way to how neuronal networks work. In ants, the acquisition of food resources takes place through various strategies, depending on the species and the social and non-social context, such as solitary foraging, recruitment, raids. Even so, the result is an adaptive exploitation of resources at the level not only of the individual but also of the group. Here I will show how, despite the diversity of individual and collective strategies, colonies manage to perceive and get to know their environment collectively, thus optimising the search for food.