PowerPoint Presentation

9/17/03

Basic Mechanism of Construction
(Stigmergy)

•Worker picks up soil granule

•Mixes saliva to make cement

•Cement contains pheromone

•Other workers attracted by pheromone to bring more granules

•There are also trail and queen pheromones

Fig. from Solé & Goodwin


	A is stimulus, R is reponse
	Cement pher. detected by workers 1-2 cm. away
	Cement pher. loses biological activity after a few minutes
	Trail pher. recruits workers to construction sites
	Worker seem to pick up granules where queen pher. is highest and deposit where somewhat lower
	(SOBS 385, 388-9)