Svärm

Svärm is a Swedish noun meaning a swarm or a large, densely packed group of individuals moving together. It is used for natural phenomena such as swarms of insects, but also metaphorically for crowds of people, vehicles, or objects that move in a coordinated way. The term emphasizes the collective movement and density of the group rather than the individual.

In biology and ecology, svärm refers to the collective behavior of social insects, notably honeybees, during swarming. A swarm forms when a queen leaves the hive with a large portion of workers to found a new colony; for a time the swarm is a mobile cluster without a settled home, often accompanied by scouts seeking a new nest site. Swarming is a natural reproductive strategy in several species and is influenced by factors such as colony strength, season, and environmental conditions.

In everyday language, svärm describes crowds in public spaces, for example a swarm of tourists or a swarm of commuters at a station. The word can also be used more loosely to convey a sense of rapid, mass movement or convergence.

In science and technology, the concept of swarms informs studies of collective dynamics and coordination. Swarm behavior is a focus in fields such as swarm intelligence and swarm robotics, which explore how multiple agents can coordinate actions through simple rules to achieve common goals.