Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Osmoregulation in Insects

Osmoregulation in Insects

Malpighian tubules are specialized structures found in the digestive systems of many arthropods, including most insects, that handle excretion and osmoregulation. The tubules are typically arranged in pairs and have a convoluted structure that increases their surface area.

Microbial Interactions: Cooperation

Microbial Interactions: Cooperation

Microbial cooperation involves beneficial interactions in which different species work together for individual or mutual advantage. These interactions can profoundly influence ecological dynamics and evolutionary processes, and they are essential to many pathogenic and symbiotic relationships.Nematode–Bacteria CooperationA striking example is the relationship between the Gram-negative bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila and the parasitic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae. Juvenile nematodes...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

A data-driven method for reconstructing and modelling social interactions in moving animal groups.

Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences·2020

Same author

Sex-biased dispersal creates spatial genetic structure in a parthenogenetic ant with a dependent-lineage reproductive system.

Heredity·2017

Same author

Emigration dynamics of cockroaches under different disturbance regimes do not depend on individual personalities.

Scientific reports·2017

Same author

Population assessment of tropical tuna based on their associative behavior around floating objects.

Scientific reports·2016

Same author

Combined hybridization and mitochondrial capture shape complex phylogeographic patterns in hybridogenetic Cataglyphis desert ants.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2016

Same author

Genetic determination of female castes in a hybridogenetic desert ant.

Journal of evolutionary biology·2014

Same journal

The host-microbiome dimension of ecological regime shifts.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026

Same journal

The emerging field of wild animal welfare science.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026

Same journal

Integrating nutritional mutualists into the evolution of defense.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026

Same journal

Formation of three great Asian plateaus, climate change, and biodiversity: (Trends Ecol. Evol. 40, 970-982; 2025).

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026

Same journal

Digital twins as a tool for ecosystem research.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026

Same journal

Constraint and convergence in the evolution of vertebrate sound production.

Trends in ecology & evolution·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Published on: December 12, 2012

Self-organization in social insects.

E Bonabeau¹, G Theraulaz, J L Deneubourg

¹The Santa Fe Institute, 1399 Hyde Park Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|January 18, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Self-organization, originating in physics and chemistry, explains how simple interactions among individuals create complex collective behaviors in animals, particularly social insects, without needing individual complexity. This concept offers a concise framework for understanding emergent colony-level phenomena.

More Related Videos

Evaluation of the Productivity of Social Wasp Colonies (Vespinae) and an Introduction to the Traditional Japanese Vespula Wasp Hunting Technique

Evaluation of the Productivity of Social Wasp Colonies (Vespinae) and an Introduction to the Traditional Japanese Vespula Wasp Hunting Technique

Published on: September 11, 2019

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: November 5, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Tactile Conditioning And Movement Analysis Of Antennal Sampling Strategies In Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Published on: December 12, 2012

Evaluation of the Productivity of Social Wasp Colonies (Vespinae) and an Introduction to the Traditional Japanese Vespula Wasp Hunting Technique

Evaluation of the Productivity of Social Wasp Colonies (Vespinae) and an Introduction to the Traditional Japanese Vespula Wasp Hunting Technique

Published on: September 11, 2019

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

Conditions Affecting Social Space in Drosophila melanogaster

Published on: November 5, 2015

Area of Science:

Ethology
Physics
Chemistry

Background:

Self-organization describes the emergence of macroscopic structures from microscopic processes in out-of-equilibrium systems.
This concept originated in physics and chemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

To extend the concept of self-organization to ethology.
To provide a concise description for collective phenomena in animal behavior, especially social insects.

Main Methods:

Review of recent research extending self-organization to ethology.
Analysis of collective phenomena in social insects.

Main Results:

Self-organization offers a concise description for a wide range of collective animal behaviors.
Complex colony-level features emerge from interactions among simple individuals.

Conclusions:

The concept of self-organization effectively explains complex collective behaviors in social insects.
Individual simplicity, coupled with interaction, can generate sophisticated group structures and behaviors.