Weaver Ants Get Stronger in Groups — The Exact Opposite of What Happens to Humans

In humans, there's a well-documented phenomenon called the Ringelmann effect: the bigger the group, the less effort each individual puts in. It's why group projects in school always had that one person doing all the work.

Ants Don't Do "Social Loafing"

In August 2025, researchers published a study in Current Biology that flipped this idea on its head. They tested weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) — the leaf-nest builders of tropical Asia — and found something extraordinary.

A single weaver ant can pull about 59 times its own body weight. Impressive on its own. But when researchers put them in groups of 15 and measured individual effort, each ant was pulling 103 times its body weight.

They didn't just maintain their effort in a group. They nearly doubled it.

The Force Ratchet

The secret is a system researchers call a "force ratchet." The front ants in a chain actively pull, while the rear ants anchor themselves using sticky pads on their feet. The chain never slips backward. Each ant locks in gains while the others push forward.

It's like a tug-of-war team where nobody ever lets go — and everyone pulls harder because they know the rope won't slip.

Why It Matters Beyond Ants

The findings aren't just a fun animal fact. Engineers studying swarm robotics are using these principles to design robot teams that cooperate more efficiently. If tiny ants can defy one of the most universal patterns of group behaviour, maybe our robots can too.

The Uncomfortable Comparison

The study puts humans in an awkward light. A creature with a brain the size of a pinhead outperforms us at teamwork — not through intelligence, but through sheer mechanical cooperation. No meetings. No emails. No one "circling back." Just pull.