Washington, July 25 - Ants can accomplish a task more rationally than human beings, according to a new study.

Humans and animals often make irrational choices when faced with very challenging decisions, note the study's architects Stephen Pratt and Susan Edwards.

Pratt and Edwards are assistant professors in the School of Life Sciences in Arizona State University (ASU) College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Their insights arose from an examination of the process of nest selection in ants. These ant colonies live in small cavities, as small as a corn and are skilled in finding new places to roost.

The researchers found that in collective decision-making in ants, the lack of individual options translated into more accurate outcomes by minimising the chances for individuals to commit mistakes.

These findings were released online in the July edition of the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences.