A recent study from Macquarie University has revealed that weaver ants exhibit a highly efficient collaboration pattern that is strikingly different from human teams. The research, published on August 12 in Current Biology, shows that as group size increases, the individual contribution of each ant actually strengthens.

Through experiments, the research team observed that when weaver ants form living chains to transport leaves, the pulling force of individual ants nearly doubles as team size grows. This contrasts sharply with the common “social loafing” phenomenon in human teams. Lead researcher Dr. Madeleine Stewartson from Macquarie University stated: “Ants demonstrate a unique collaborative ability—larger teams lead to stronger individual performance.”

The study uncovered the “force ratchet” mechanism employed by weaver ants: some ants actively pull, while others act as fixed anchor points to store pulling force. Dr. Daniel Calesso from the University of Konstanz explained: “Rear ants stretch their bodies to store tension, while front ants continuously apply force—this division of labor makes long-chain teams more efficient.”

The researchers believe this group collaboration pattern offers valuable inspiration for robotics development. Dr. David Labonte from Imperial College London noted: “The ants’ collaborative strategy could help improve the coordination efficiency of autonomous robot teams.” Dr. Chris Reid from Macquarie University added that the discovery provides biological inspiration for designing novel collaborative robotic systems.