The emergent complexity of ant societies is one of the most fascinating phenomena in the natural world: how do these tiny creatures form such intricate social networks? These networks are so nuanced ...

In sessile organisms such as plants and benthic invertebrates, founding propagules typically suffer extremely high rates of mortality due to both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Many social insect ...

Ants are among the most recognizable, admired, dreaded and mythologized insects on earth. They are famed for their industry, work ethic, organization, militaristic skills and loyalty. Ants are also ...

Researchers trying to determine whether nature or nurture determines an ant's status in the colony have found a surprising answer. Both. Nature (that is, the ant's genetic makeup) and nurture (what it ...

Ant colonies are surprisingly complex and definitely worthy of scientific observation. This was the basic premise behind the original ant farms (antariums) introduced in the late 1950s. From ads in ...

Harvester ant colonies are able to decide how many foragers they need to send out of the nest by using a protocol system that’s eerily similar to the one IT professionals use to determine how much ...

Researchers have uncovered an unusual survival strategy in Iberian harvester ants that turns basic biology on its head: The queens can produce eggs that develop into two different ant species. A team ...

Well, the season of fall planting and landscaping is upon us. All about town residents can be seen working diligently in their yards to improve the landscape. Unbeknownst to most people, there is a ...

Well, the season of planting and landscaping is upon us. All about town, residents can be seen working diligently in their yards to improve the landscape. Unbeknownst to most people, there is a small ...

Queen Iberian harvester ants are capable of storing and cloning the sperm from a cousin species, spawning hybrid offspring to take on the hard work of keeping the colony intact. Reading time 3 minutes ...