@pubity: 🐜 This is called an “ant mill” or death spiral, and it happens when army ants lose the pheromone trail leading back to their colony. Without a signal to follow, they default to tracking the ant directly in front of them, which causes the entire group to lock into an endless circular loop. Researcher T.C. Schneirla first documented this phenomenon in the 1940s and found that some mills can continue until the ants die of exhaustion. The rock in the middle is completely irrelevant. The ants just built their own prison around it. #pubity #RoadTo19M (witchylotusart Via Collab)

iestynjones3178 :

wtf they doing

Eve💕 :

It’s a phenomenon known as an ant mill or "death spiral” when they lose their primary pheromone trail and begin following the ant in front of them in a self-reinforcing loop. Essentially a "follow the leader" behavior gone wrong, this creates a closed, circular, and often fatal path.

Jeff :

Pretty much what our country is going through now.

୧⍤⃝💐 :

Ants walk in circles because of a breakdown in their pheromone communication system, creating a self-reinforcing feedback loop. This phenomenon is scientifically known as an ant mill (or sometimes a "death spiral"). Here is the step-by-step process of why this occurs: Pheromone Following: Ants are social insects that rely heavily on chemical signals called pheromones to navigate. When foraging, they lay down a scent trail for others to follow. Ants instinctively follow the pheromone scent left by the ant in front of them. The Initial Error: If a lead ant becomes disoriented, loses the original scent trail, or mistakenly begins walking in a circle, the ants following behind them continue to follow that specific path. The Feedback Loop: As the column of ants continues to move, they reinforce the circular path by adding their own pheromones to it. This makes the circular trail smell increasingly "correct" and strong, prompting other ants to join the loop rather than breaking away. Entrapment: Once locked into this cycle, the ants are effectively trapped. Each ant is simply following the strong scent of the ant immediately in front of it, unable to detect that they are not actually going anywhere. Because the ants lack a broader sense of navigation to override this instinctual behavior, they continue to march in this circle until they eventually collapse from exhaustion and die. It is a clear example of how a behavior that is usually highly efficient—following the leader—can lead to catastrophic results when the system loses its reference point.

tiffanysanders111 :

how would you fix it

Nature loco :

Nothing a cup if water can solve 😁

EyeBeyond :

Reminds me how humans do the same thing, just with trends, beliefs, and fear. Constantly looking to others for what to do next. The programming runs deep.

Tammy :

Weirdly sad

CalebShearer :

Pest Technician here, yea thats not normal

Malachi Horne :

Is what’s happening to us rn

Mia Schuyler :

this is sad 😢😢

highrollernumberone :

I see this at my job all the time😂😂😂

Urban Golf :

humans do the same

Everyday Essentials :

Patchy Patchy :

Feels a bit like life sometimes

SandLOTR🇨🇦🧡 :

Seems like a visible symbol of capitalism

sarinagabriella :

I don’t get it

Dababies :

Looks like ppl at sports stadiums

Chris_Aroze :

Looks like nascar

searchtreasure2 :

Sounds like the US government

Kim Law 🐾 :

That's a bummer ☹️

keithd001 :

That’s so metal

Sam :

What band is that?

lastchanceotg :

What if this whole time they were just big metal fans but we didn’t know it? That’s a hell of a circle pit.

Steven Jensen :

post Malone circles