> Contemporary use of the term superorganism to describe eusocial insect colonies is typically traced back to Wheeler (1911, 1928) falling out of favor along with group selection though E. O. Wilson provides a notable exception (Wilson and Sober 1989). Wilson and Sober distance themselves from traditional approaches to the superorganism, strongly criticizing metaphorical treatments of the concept. Instead, Wilson and Sober defend superorganisms as real biological individuals.

> Colonies are individuals. Whether they are superorganisms or not turns on (1) what an organism is, and (2) what it means for an individual to be a unit of selection. Both approaches to superorganisms are problematic for various reasons, and either distract from the biology of colonies, or too narrowly focus on a single aspect of that biology. The individuality approach avoids these problems, and provides a neutral framework from which to build up a biological account of how colonies evolve, persist, and participate in a variety of biological processes.  

Colonies Are Individuals: Revisiting the Superorganism Revival, by Matt Haber

in: Bouchard, F., & Huneman, P. (Eds.). (2013). From Groups to Individuals: Evolution and Emerging Individuality. The MIT Press.

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