social insect
noun
: an insect (such as a termite or bee) that lives in a colony or community with other individuals of the same species
… a number of other entomologists prefer to view ant colonies and the societies of other social insects as more like superorganisms than communities of individualized organisms.—
Robert L. O'Connell
Robert L. O'ConnellThe evolution of worker behavior in the social insects is usually explained by kin selection: although workers do not produce offspring, they do reproduce their genes by aiding the reproduction of relatives.—David C. Queller et al.
David C. Queller et al.Examples of social insect in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The concept of using the behavior of social insects to inspire algorithms dates back over 30 years, initially applied to software agents rather than physical robots.
—Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
Swarm intelligence is a subfield of AI that draws inspiration from the collective behavior of social insects, such as ants, bees and termites.
—Thomas Caldwell, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Phillip Barden studies ants (and other social insects) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Oct. 2024
Other social insects that live in close quarters engage in similar practices.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2024
Blues are quite social insects, and they can often be found roosting quite close together—or even on the same grass or flower.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
In the years since, the ideas developed for human warfare have been adapted to apply to non-human combatants, most notably social insects, which can mobilize large forces when engaging in combat.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2023
And then there are sloth bears, which mostly eat social insects.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2023
When complex phenomena arise from simple rules distributed throughout a large population—as can be seen best in social insects and slime molds—modern humans tend to be puzzled.
—Alan Jacobs, Harper's Magazine, 9 Nov. 2022
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Anna Funk, Discover Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
Swarm intelligence is a subfield of AI that draws inspiration from the collective behavior of social insects, such as ants, bees and termites.
—Thomas Caldwell, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
Phillip Barden studies ants (and other social insects) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 25 Oct. 2024
Other social insects that live in close quarters engage in similar practices.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2024
Blues are quite social insects, and they can often be found roosting quite close together—or even on the same grass or flower.
—Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024
In the years since, the ideas developed for human warfare have been adapted to apply to non-human combatants, most notably social insects, which can mobilize large forces when engaging in combat.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 29 Aug. 2023
And then there are sloth bears, which mostly eat social insects.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 4 Oct. 2023
When complex phenomena arise from simple rules distributed throughout a large population—as can be seen best in social insects and slime molds—modern humans tend to be puzzled.
—Alan Jacobs, Harper's Magazine, 9 Nov. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Social insect.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/social%20insect. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.
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