Ants Sacrifice Individual Protection for Larger Colonies

Scientists found that some ants have evolved to have weaker outer shells, called cuticles.

This makes each ant less protected, but it allows the colony to have more ants.

More ants mean the colony can work together better and take over new places.

The study looked at over 500 ant species and found that ants with thinner cuticles usually have bigger colonies.

This shows that sometimes, being many and working together is better than being strong alone.

The researchers think this could teach us about how other groups, like humans, have also succeeded by working together in large numbers.