Even though this seems flippant, I think we may eventually come to understand that nearly all complex life forms exhibit consciousness, albeit at a very, very different speed than we may be accustomed to. If we think of genetic and epigenetic signaling as analogous to other forms of communication, we might find that populations of organisms (including ones we don’t think of as forming “colonies”) may arguably be operating holistically as a being, potentially with consciousness in the mix.

We have a long way to go to explore this, and I have no doubt that the exploration will turn up a lot of surprises.