Ant Supercolony Dominates Europe
"Scientists are not entirely sure why the supercolony has emerged. They think the initial success of the alien invaders would have led to high nest densities, which in turn would have favoured co-operative behaviour over aggression. And evolution would then have reinforced this superiority because nests devoid of internal strife would have had time and resources to fight off their enemies. Success would have bred success."
[Steven Johnson's book Emergence has more on ant organisation, finding some interesting parallels in cities and code.]
The Beeb have a great infographic of Spain, France, Portugal, and Italy hemmed in (note a separate Catalan colony holding out, almost as if they've inferred some separatist behaviour from Barcelona. Or maybe the Catalans inferred it from the ants? ;)
