It was a warm August day in 2023, the kind that made the zookeepers sweat and the ants plot. I, a humble carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus), found myself deep in contemplation, brainstorming new research trajectories, or rather, new galleries to excavate. With the collective wisdom of my colony - a bustling superorganism of minor and major workers, scouts, and our venerable Queen - we formulated an idea so pioneering it sent ripples through the colony’s decentralized decision-making system.

Our Queen, that magnanimous matriarch and consummate scout, volunteered herself for the riskiest reconnaissance mission. Ever fearless, she left the safety of our nest to explore the uncharted wilderness of the Cleveland Zoo’s gorilla exhibit. There, amid the mossy, decaying wood, a veritable pa

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