a group of organisms functioning as one organism (e.g. an insect colony)
superorganism in American English
(ˌsupərˈɔrgəˌnɪzəm)
noun
a colony of interdependent organisms, as in the social insects, whose castes, individuals, etc. act as a unit
Examples of 'superorganism' in a sentence
superorganism
This sign (human plus commensal microbiota) forms the human superorganism.
Rodney Dietert, Janice Dietert 2012, 'The Completed Self: An Immunological View of the Human-Microbiome Superorganism andRisk of Chronic Diseases', Entropyhttp://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/14/11/2036. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
The differential individual endothermic and behavioral reactions sum up to an integrated action of the honeybee colony as a superorganism.
Anton Stabentheiner, Helmut Kovac, Robert Brodschneider 2010, 'Honeybee Colony Thermoregulation – Regulatory Mechanisms and Contribution of Individualsin Dependence on Age, Location and Thermal Stress', PLoS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.0008967. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)