Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did E.O. Wilson describe ant colonies as superorganisms?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Marble bust of Aristotle with a beard and draped robe, showing detailed facial features and wavy hair, set against a dark background. — Philosophy of biology Detail of a Roman copy (2nd century bce) of a Greek alabaster portrait bust of Aristotle, c. 325 bce; in the collection of the Roman National Museum.

In the context of the philosophy of biology, E.O. Wilson described ant colonies as superorganisms by arguing that the members of a colony are so highly integrated and dependent upon one another for survival that the entire nest should be treated as a single, unified individual rather than as a collection of independent organisms.12

This perspective aligns with a concept originally suggested by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species, who posited that the nest functions as an organic whole with individual insects serving as its parts. Wilson further developed this idea in his later career, notably in works such as Success, Dominance, and the Superorganism: The Case of the Social Insects (1997) and The Superorganism: The Beauty, Elegance, and Strangeness of Insect Societies (2009). By viewing the colony as a superorganism, Wilson emphasized that the group itself acts as a unit of selection, a position that became central to his arguments regarding multilevel selection in social evolution.21