"Any model of ant behavior has to have at least two levels." interactions within and without the colony #ReadingToday

Any model of ant behavior has to have at least two levels. The first specifies how the workers interact within the colony to regulate the acquisition, processing, and distribution of resources. The second specifies how the internal processes of the colony connect to the colony's environment. The colony's behavior influences colony growth, and how colony growth affects all the other organisms that the colony uses and interacts with, which in turn will feed back on the colony's ability to grow. Although the first level is sometimes called 'behavior' and the second 'ecology,' they are clearly inseparable.