Want to get better at making decisions? Ask an ant

Insects, despite their tiny brains, offer surprising lessons in decision-making, according to a BBC Future report.

Ants use pheromone trails to collectively find the shortest foraging routes without central control, while honeybees “vote” via waggle dances to select nest sites. Locusts show that allowing indecision helps groups break deadlock and reach consensus faster.

Cockroaches with varied personalities make quicker collective decisions than uniform groups, and fruit flies weigh internal and external cues, hesitating over similar options before choosing wisely.

Scientists say these behaviours have inspired real-world algorithms in logistics, transport and communication networks.