Ants

The hell-ant's fearsome fangs are on full display in this 3D false-color rendering of a Haidomyrmex scimitarus queen, produced by combining several hundred two-dimensional x-ray snapshots.

These Tiny Saber-Toothed Terrors Are Among the World's Oldest Ants

Analysis of insects entombed in amber shows that the "hell ants" were among the first to diverge from the original ant-wasp ancestor

Leaf-cutter ants tending a fungus garden in Guadaloupe

Future Antibiotics for Humans Could Come From Ant Fungus Gardens

A unique symbiotic relationship exists between leaf-cutter ants, fungi and bacteria

Some ants, like the unidentified species above, take lazy breaks while others work.

Despite Their Industrious Reputation, Some Ants Are Super Lazy

Research suggests that some worker ants excel at inactivity

A trap-jaw ant opens its massive mandibles.

Watch These Ants Hurl Themselves Out of Death Traps With Their Mouths

At least one trap-jaw ant species has coopted its exceptionally strong mandibles to escape its nemesis, the ferocious antlion

The tropical fire ant is the first known ant to travel the world by sea.

How 16th Century Trade Made Fire Ants an Early Global Invader

By inadvertently stowing away in Spanish ships, one pesky little insect quickly spread throughout much of the world

A black garden ant.

Ants Have Designated Toilet Areas in Their Nests

A new study shows that black garden ants have a relatively meticulous protocol for when nature calls

A yellow crazy ant

Invasive, Acid-Spraying Ants in Hawaii Are Deforming Native Seabird Chicks

The ground-dwelling chicks are pestered by invasive ants spraying acid

Black bears, like this one in Minnesota, which lick ants from leaves are providing an important benefit to the plant.

Bears Munching on Ants Indirectly Help Plants

A link uncovered by a graduate student shows that plants have bears to thank for trimming them of ants — and another pesky species

Photos of two queen ants (left, the host species Mycocepurus goeldii and right, the parasitic species Mycocepurus castrator) shown side-by-side represent what may be an example of sympatric speciation—when a new species develops in the same geographic area with its sister species, but reproduces on its own.

This Ant Species May Support a Controversial Theory on Evolution

New research suggests that species don't have to be geographically separated in order to evolve

When Fire Ants Build Rafts, There Are No Free Loaders

When fire ants form floating balls, not a single leg or antennae goes to waste

These Slave-Making Ants Use Stealth, Not Force, to Take Prisoners

Chemical camouflage allow these tiny ants to sneak past enemies' defenses and steal their babies

Ants tunneling through a formicarium

An Ant's Life is No Picnic

Page 3 of 3