One of the main species in my world has human level intelligence and works as a "pseudo-unified consciousness", in that the creatures are capable of intra-species telepathic communication, and are constantly sharing information with others within range (the process here is not the main interest, for all intents and purposes, it's magical). Most of the time, this constant communication and the way they work instinct-wise leads them to act much more like a single being who happens to be made of many bodies than as a proper group of individuals.
Now, the problem I'm having with this is the impacts it can cause on the development of a culture. As I understand, a culture in its most basic form comes from a mix of a group's various needs and how they view the world, as well as the sharing of the information. A rough version of this is easily seen in how different groups of more social animals act differently from one another, easily seen in orca pods in terms of how they communicate differently between one another and how their hunting strategies and seeming favorite prey vary.
As of now I do have a decent notion of how they functioned at their most basic level: they are arthropod-like and have specialized limbs for predation and burrowing. They're not the most dexterous and have somewhat limited tool use, as their most dexterous limbs are closer to the back of their bodies. They relied mostly on a mix of observation, traps (usually pits they'd dig) and venom-assisted physical attacks to hunt prey as a result. Their caste system is relatively underdeveloped, meaning the physical differences between, say, a worker and a reproductive member are relatively small.
My main problem overall is understanding how exactly the hive mind aspect of the species influences their cultural development. They may be similar to humans in some ways, but at the same time they have little to no concept of individuality, to the point where each member of the group is seen more like another "body part" than as an individual. Our world, as far as I'm aware, has no examples of a hive mind species whose members are also smart enough to develop a culture, and even in fictional works most societies with a culture are, understandably, heavily influenced on our own, including an usually high level of inviduality between its members.
I have no intentions of slapping on them a culture that completely ignores how the species works on a basic biological level, because that's not how cultures as we know them work, but I still wanted them to have one, if possible. My main issue is understanding whether the almost complete lack of individuality that comes from being organized as a hive mind does or does not fundamentally interfere with the social processes that, as far as we know, are necessary for new cultures to be formed.
With the context laid down: would the lack of individuality and constant information sharing that comes with being part of a hive mind prevent the development of a culture as we define it?
As for the criteria of what I'd define as a best answer:
the best answer would say whether or not it's possible for a culture to form among a hive mind species, accompanied by some explanation based on what we know about the functioning of real life hive minds, such as those seen in social insects, and/or the social behaviors necessary for the formation of cultural traits among humans and other intelligent social animals, such as orcas and certain primates.
