In biology, a colony (from Latin colonia) refers to several individual organisms of the same species living closely together, usually for mutual benefit, such as stronger defences, the ability to attack bigger prey, etc. Some insects (ants and honey bees, for example) live only in colonies. The Portuguese Man o' War, is an example of a colony of four different polyps.

A colony of single-celled organisms is known as a colonial organism. Colonial organisms were probably the first step towards multicellular organisms during evolution. The difference between a multicellular organism and a colonial organism is that individual organisms from a colony can, if separated, survive on their own, while cells from a multicellular lifeform (e.g., liver cells) cannot. Volvox is an example for the border between these two states.

For bacterial colony, it is defined as a cluster of microorganisms growing on the surface of or within a solid medium, usually cultured from a single cell.

See also

• Clonal colony
• Eusociality
• Seabird colony
• Superorganism
• Beehive (beekeeping)

Ecology | Microbiology

Kolonie (Biologie) | Colonie (biologie) | Colónia (biologia)