ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → Biology

How cockroaches make democratic group decisions

livia rusubylivia rusu
July 3, 2014 - Updated on March 11, 2015
in Biology
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

RelatedPosts

There are probably hundreds of bugs living in your house
Decisions are reached in the brain by the same method used to crack the Nazi Enigma code
Our brains tend to judge whole experiences by how they ended, which can lead to poor decisions in the future
Fossil Friday: the bug inside the lizard inside the snake

For cockroaches, it seems, collaboration comes naturally: when 50 cockroaches are presented with 3 shelters which can only host 40 (each), they’ll split into two groups, leaving the third shelter empty. Basically, they find a way to split themselves equally, in a democratic fashion.

In cockroach groups, there are no members higher than others – everybody is equal, apparently. Thus, group decision making is simplified, leading to patterns which can be understood and studied. What makes it even more interesting is that cockroaches don’t make sounds, so they must therefore communicate without vocalizing.

“Cockroaches use chemical and tactile communication with each other,” says Dr José Halloy, who co-authored the research in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “They can also use vision,” says Halloy, a scientist in the Department of Social Ecology at the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. “When they encounter each other they recognise if they belong to the same colony thanks to their antennae that are ‘nooses’, that is, sophisticated olfactory organs that are very sensitive,” he says.

Halloy wanted to see how the cockroaches would behave when faced with a decision. He placed the insects in a dish that contained three shelters. Initially, the shelters could only host 40 insects each, so the 50 bugs decided to split equally – 25 into one, 25 into the other, leaving the third one empty. However, when the shelters were larger than 50, they all moved into just one shelter, showing that they make rational, democratic group decisions.

“Cockroaches are gregarious insects [that] benefit from living in groups. It increases their reproductive opportunities, [promotes] sharing of resources like shelter or food, prevents desiccation by aggregating more in dry environments, etc,” he says.”So what we show is that these behavioural models allow them to optimise group size.”

The way they behave is so basic and rational, that it can be quite predictable to model. Researchers hope to draw insights for other insects as well – and not only insects.

“It looks both at the mechanisms underlying decision-making by animals and how those mechanisms produce a distribution of animals amongst resource sites that optimizes their individual fitness,” says Dr David Sumpter, a University of Oxford zoologist.”Much previous research has concentrated on either mechanisms or optimality at the expense of the other.”

The study documenting this behavior was published in PNAS in 2006.

Tags: cockroachdecisiondemocraticgroupinsectOxford University

ShareTweetShare
livia rusu

livia rusu

Livia's main interests are people, and how they think. Having a background in marketing and sociology, she is in love with social sciences, and has a lot of insight and experience on how humans and societies work. She is also focused on how humans interact with technology.

Related Posts

Merton College, University of Oxford. Located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons
Bizarre Stories

For over 500 years, Oxford graduates pledged to hate Henry Symeonis. So, who is he?

byMihai Andrei
15 hours ago
Anthropology

Oxford Academics Used a Human Skull as a Wine Cup—Until 2015

byMihai Andrei
3 weeks ago
Environment

This Caddisfly Discovered Microplastics in 1971—and We Just Noticed

byMihai Andrei
4 weeks ago
A researcher shows a Madagascar hissing cockroach, mounted with a "backpack" of electronics and a solar cell that enable remote control of its movement, during a photo opportunity at the Thin-Film Device Laboratory of Japanese research institution Riken in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, Japan September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Future

A Factory for Cyborg Insects? Researchers Unveil Mass Production of Robo-Roaches

byTibi Puiu
5 months ago

Recent news

The Worm That Outsourced Locomotion to Its (Many) Butts

May 16, 2025

The unusual world of Roman Collegia — or how to start a company in Ancient Rome

May 16, 2025
Merton College, University of Oxford. Located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

For over 500 years, Oxford graduates pledged to hate Henry Symeonis. So, who is he?

May 16, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.