A fundamental prerequisite for the coordinated performance of tasks in social insect colonies is the sharing of information between workers. Every decision taken by a colony member, for example, about which food source to exploit, is no longer based solely on the individual’s private experience but involves the integration of information from other nestmates and from the immediate surroundings (Beekman & Dussutour 2009; Detrain & Deneubourg 2009; Jarau & Hrncir 2009; Leadbeater & Chittka 2009). Probably the best-studied example concerning task organization in social insects is the coordination of foraging processes (Wilson 1971; Jarau & Hrncir 2009). Here, information from successful foragers is a crucial determinant of whether inactive individuals will initiate foraging, and if so, the resources from which they will collect
(Seeley 1989; Biesmeijer et al. 1998; Leadbeater & Chittka 2009)