Leaf cutter ants with leaves (photo from Wikimedia)

12 October 2026

Next to humans, leaf cutter ants form some of the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth. — Wikipedia

Last week on the WINGS birding tour in Veracruz, Mexico we encountered a long line leaf cutter ants carrying leaves to their nest. It is always fascinating to see how they cooperate.

Rather than eat the leaves, leaf cutter ants use them to grow their own food — a fungus — inside their underground nests. They work cooperatively to tend the fungus by feeding it freshly cut leaves, flowers or grasses, and removing mold and pests that threaten it.

This level of cooperation has made their species very successful. Why do they cooperate?

To answer this I’ll paraphrase my blog post of 8 March 2012.

While studying ant behavior, E. O. Wilson found that cooperation within a species doesn’t spring up easily but when it happens to start within a group, it makes the group survive so well that they dominate other groups. 

Selfishness beats altruism within groups.  Altruistic groups beat selfish groups.

We humans see selfishness push everyone around and dominate the group. Unfortunately we’re encouraged to be selfish with slogans like “Be a winner” and “It’s all about you.”

But wait.  The second principle is true too.  Selfish groups lose out to altruistic groups.  Cooperation makes groups successful over others who are fighting among themselves or fearful of selfish individuals.

It’s important not to lose sight of this.  Humans have been successful as a species because we help each other.  Selfishness is a disadvantage to society.  Rugged individuals fail in the face of disasters; they ask for help.  We can’t do everything alone, and we cannot expect society to thrive if we insist that everyone pull himself up by his own bootstraps.

I am happy to know that ants showed the way on this.

In my view cooperation beats selfishness any day of the week!