Conclusion
We have shown that protein limitation scales up to limit the size of both organisms and superorganisms. The selective benefits of size, such as task efficiency, longevity, and metabolic efficiency, also trade-off with physiological resource storage. These factors are predicted to select for tuning of dietary preferences, and we found evidence of dietary preference – and ants appear to make decisions on the diet by assessing multiple ingredients independently. The mechanisms by which superorganisms integrate nutritional information and translate nutrition into growth decisions, including feedbacks, are only beginning to be elucidated.