French zoologist and specialist in termite behavior who coined the term stigmergy in 1959 to describe the indirect coordination he observed in mound construction by Bellicositermes natalensis and Cubitermes species. Grassé’s insight was that termites do not communicate directly to build their complex mounds. Each termite responds to the pheromone-marked state of the construction site left by earlier work, and the site itself carries the coordination.
The term has since travelled far beyond entomology. It now names one of the mechanisms underlying Mycelial Coordination and much of what a BioConomy relies on for coordination without central command.
Related pages
Sources
- Grassé, P.-P. (1959). La reconstruction du nid et les coordinations inter-individuelles chez Bellicositermes natalensis et Cubitermes sp.
Provenance
Stub entry created September 2026 as part of the Stigmergy addition. Enrichment to follow.