In Camponotus sericeus (Fabricius), foraging ants are recruited mostly as individuals but occasionally as small groups that move in a single file. We studied the structure and organization of these small foraging groups and attempted to understand the process through which the cohesiveness of the moving file is maintained. The recruited group moves in a single file as if steered by a leader at the moving tip. Ants in the group were found to exhibit certain fidelity to their respective positions in the file, despite the occasional breakdown of the cohesiveness due to disturbance and or obstructions on their path. This fidelity decreases from both ends towards the middle part of the file. Accordingly, three segments could be recognized in the moving file: (a) the leading ant that almost always maintains its position and steers the group, (b) a short tail part with a few ants that always trail the file and, (c) the mid part that binds the group; ants in this segment always tend to follow the leader through a cascading chain of tactile communication. If the leader ant is removed, entire group loses its orientation and enters into a chaotic search state. But removing any other ant does not affect the cohesiveness; rather it’s position is occupied by the member preceding it and thus maintains the link in the group. The cohesiveness of the moving group appeared to result from (a) regulation of the movement of the group by the leading ant, and, (b) an interactive process among the rest of the ants. Based on these two elements, a simple automated model of the group’s movement was developed that could effectively mimic the observed pattern. We also provide evidence to suggest that recruitment of groups occurs in the direction of, and in response to, the information received by the colony on, the resource rich patches.

中文翻译：

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弯曲Camponotus sericeus（Fabricius）（膜翅目：Formicidae）中觅食群体的结构组织和凝聚力：是局部调控还是自组织？

在Camponotus sericeus（Fabricius）中，觅食蚂蚁主要是作为个体而招募的，但偶尔也作为以单个文件移动的小团体的形式被招募。我们研究了这些小型觅食小组的结构和组织，并试图了解保持移动文件凝聚力的过程。所招募的小组在一个文件中移动，就好像由领导者在移动的尖端引导。尽管偶尔由于干扰和/或路径障碍而导致内聚力下降，但该组中的蚂蚁仍对文件中的各个位置表现出一定的忠诚度。保真度从文件的两端向文件的中间部分减小。因此，在移动文件中可以识别出三个部分：（a）几乎总是保持其位置并引导团队前进的领先蚂蚁，（b）尾巴很短，有几只蚂蚁总是尾随文件，以及（c）束缚群的中间部分；该细分市场中的蚂蚁总是倾向于通过级联的触觉交流来跟随领导者。如果领导蚂蚁被删除，整个团队失去其方向，并进入混乱的搜索状态。但是去除任何其他蚂蚁不会影响内聚力。相反，它的位置被其前面的成员占据，因此可以保持组中的链接。移动群体的凝聚力似乎是由于（a）主导蚂蚁对群体运动的调节，以及（b）其余蚂蚁之间的相互作用而产生的。基于这两个元素，开发了一个可以自动模拟观察到的模式的小组运动的简单自动化模型。