The behavior of animals gathering together in large, dense groups that move as a coordinated unit. This phenomenon occurs in insects, fish, birds, and other animals for protection, feeding, or reproduction.
From Old English 'swearm' meaning a cluster of bees, related to German 'schwarm.' The word evolved from describing bee colonies to any large group of animals moving together in the 1600s.
Swarming creates one of nature's most spectacular displays of collective intelligence, where thousands of individual animals behave like a single superorganism! Locust swarms can contain billions of insects and be visible from space, while starling murmurations create shape-shifting aerial sculptures that scientists are still trying to fully understand.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.