Flow and fabricate: morphogenesis of termite shelter-tube networks

Subterranean termites must forage above ground while remaining hidden from predators and avoiding moisture loss. They meet this challenge by constructing intricate shelter-tube networks, collecting, shaping, and cementing soil grains even as thousands of nest-mates and food items stream through the same narrow passages. Despite their ecological importance, the collective rules that generate these structures remain poorly understood. Envisioning termite collectives as living granular matter that can both flow and fabricate, we present experiments and a minimal theoretical model to uncover the decentralized decision-making that drives shelter-tube morphogenesis.