Get the Right People on the Bus

Biological Parallel

Before naked mole rat colonies decide which tunnels to excavate or which food sources to target, the queen ensures the colony composition matches environmental demands—increasing soldier ratios during predator threats, boosting forager numbers when food is scarce. Wrong composition dooms even perfect strategy: too many soldiers during abundance wastes calories, too few during attacks risks colony death. The 'bus' (colony) must have the right passengers (caste ratios) before choosing a destination (foraging strategy), because capabilities constrain destinations.