Ants Harness Their “Collective Brainpower” to Navigate Obstacles
New findings reveal how ants increase their collective sensing power to help them navigate complex terrains. Ants use their numbers to overcome navigational challenges that…
Ants
Evolution Can Go in Reverse – Research on Soldier Ants Reveals Surprising Flexibility
Turtle ant soldiers look like real-life creatures straight out of a Japanese anime film. These tree-dwelling insects scuttle to and fro sporting shiny, adorably oversized…
Friend or Foe? Specific Mechanism Discovered for Unlocking Aggression in Ants [Video]
For most social animals, even humans, the ability to distinguish friend versus foe can be a challenge that often can lead to knee-jerk aggression. But…
First Evidence That Social Interactions of Ants Affect Pathogen Competition
Sanitary care by social ants shapes disease outcome — study published in Ecology Letters. Who wins in a competition is largely dependent on the opponent…
Of Ants and Men: Ant Behavior and Political Polarization May Be Driven by the Same Processes
Princeton researchers find that division of labor and political polarization may be driven by the same processes in ant societies. Could the division of labor…
In a Twist of Fate, Ant Expert Discovers Distinct New Species in His Own Backyard
Jack Longino is a global ant expert and has traveled the world documenting and discovering ant species. But for his latest discovery, he didn’t need…
Ants the Size of Lions: Augmented Ants [Video]
The first app of its kind allows users to interact with biodiversity research through augmented reality. An ant the size of a lion isn’t as…
Invasion of Zombie Ants in Florida – Fungal Infection Takes Over the Ants’ Brains
Biology Assistant Professor Charissa de Bekker is working to figure out how a fungus is manipulating and killing ants. A zombie invasion is happening in…
Cannibal Wood Ants Were Stuck in a Polish Nuclear Weapons Bunker – Here’s What Happened
In a recent development of the story about wood ants trapped in a post-Soviet nuclear weapons bunker in Poland, scientists, led by Professor Wojciech Czechowski,…
Ants vs. Humans: Solving the Mystery of How Ants Manage Traffic So Well
Whether they occur on holiday routes or the daily commute, traffic jams affect cars as well as pedestrians. Scientists at the Research Center on Animal…
Recording Breaking Speed: World’s Fastest Ant Clocked at 855mm/s, an Incredible 47 Strides/s
Saharan Silver Ants Are World’s Fastest Ants According to Noël Coward, mad dogs and Englishmen are the only creatures that go out in the midday…
Ants Fight Plant Diseases by Secreting Antibiotics – Potential for Use in Agriculture
New research from Aarhus University shows that ants inhibit at least 14 different plant diseases. The small insects secrete antibiotics from glands in the body….
The Unexpected Role Ant-Plant Partnerships May Play in Ant Evolution
Partnerships between ant and plant species appear to arise from—but not drive—rapid diversification of ants into new species. Katrina Kaur of the University of Toronto,…
Ants Help Researchers Understand Why Biodiversity is Higher in Tropical Regions
It’s a puzzle that has confounded biologists for centuries: the earth’s tropical regions are home to an enormous variety of plant and animal species, but…
Wood Ants Survive for Years Trapped in a Nuclear Weapons Bunker
Having built their nest over the vertical ventilation pipe of an old nuclear weapon bunker in Poland, every year a large number of wood ants…
Tiny Dracula Ants: New Species of Subterranean Hunters
Six new species of subterranean ants from the genus Prionopelta have been discovered in Madagascar and the islands of Seychelles. Dubbed Dracula ants by these…
Zombie-Ant Fungus Faces its Own Deadly, Specialized Parasites
The zombie-ant fungus is part of the Ophiocordyceps genus, and its strange way of infecting worker ants’ heads and controlling them to distribute more spores…
Hyperparasite Fungus Limits the Effects of ‘Zombie-Ant’ Fungus
New research on a parasite that fights zombie-ant fungus, an infestations that takes over the brain and then ejects its spores out of the ant’s…