Ants
Ants: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior, and Biodiversity
Ants are among the most diverse, abundant, and socially complex insects on Earth. Members of the family Formicidae occupy terrestrial environments across much of the planet and form societies ranging from relatively small colonies to enormous populations containing highly specialized workers and reproductive queens. Their ecological abundance and sophisticated social organization have also made ants important scientific models for studying evolution, cooperation, communication, collective behavior, and biological organization.
Evolution and Biodiversity
Ants have an ancient evolutionary history. Molecular evidence indicates that their origins extend well into the age of the dinosaurs, with major diversification occurring alongside the expansion of flowering plants. Research on army ants, fungus-growing ants, and other specialized groups demonstrates that many characteristic ant lifestyles have similarly deep evolutionary histories.
Ant diversity is enormous, but scientific knowledge is uneven. Recent research on Neotropical ants emphasizes that thousands of species remain poorly studied behaviorally. Historical museum specimens, DNA analysis, digitized collections, and global biodiversity databases are increasingly helping scientists reconstruct ant evolution, distribution, and ecological change.
Resources such as AntWeb, AntCat, AntMaps, and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility provide specimen records, taxonomy, photographs, scientific literature, and geographic occurrence data. These databases allow researchers to investigate global patterns of diversity, endemism, invasion, and changes in species distributions.
Colonies, Communication, and Collective Behavior
Ant societies are organized around colonies containing reproductive individuals and workers that perform tasks such as foraging, nest maintenance, defense, brood care, and food processing. Rather than depending on centralized leadership, many colonies coordinate their activities through interactions among individual ants.
Chemical communication and recognition systems are fundamental to this organization. Ants use chemical signals to distinguish colony members, communicate information, coordinate movement, organize defense, and regulate other aspects of social life.
Research on harvester ants and other species demonstrates how complex colony-level behavior can emerge from relatively simple interactions among individuals. Ant colonies can regulate foraging, respond collectively to environmental hazards, maintain social networks, and solve navigation problems without a central decision-maker.
Experiments have even found similarities between ant-colony decision processes and information processing in neural systems. These characteristics make ants useful models for studying decentralized networks, collective intelligence, and biological computation.
Navigation, Foraging, and Intelligence
Ants possess sophisticated systems for finding food and navigating through complex environments. Different species use combinations of chemical trails, visual landmarks, step counting, celestial cues, and collective information.
Desert ants can combine visual navigation with mechanisms for estimating distance traveled. Nocturnal bull ants have demonstrated navigation using a lunar compass, while other species cooperate to transport objects through environments that would present difficult navigation problems for individuals.
Ant trails can remain remarkably efficient even at high traffic densities because individuals modify their behavior according to local conditions. Studies of ant exploration have consequently inspired mathematical approaches to decentralized search and optimization.
Ant Agriculture and Fungus Farming
Some of the most extraordinary ant societies practice agriculture. Fungus-growing ants collect biological material and cultivate fungi that provide food for their colonies. Leafcutter ants represent one of the most highly developed forms of this agricultural system, harvesting large quantities of vegetation to maintain extensive underground fungus gardens.
Evidence indicates that ant agriculture has existed for tens of millions of years. Over evolutionary time, ants and their cultivated fungi developed increasingly specialized relationships. Bacteria living within fungus gardens can contribute to decomposition and nutrient processing, while antimicrobial-producing microorganisms help defend agricultural systems against disease.
Leafcutter-ant agriculture therefore represents a complex biological partnership involving ants, fungi, bacteria, plants, pathogens, and other microorganisms. Research into these relationships provides insights into coevolution, disease management, agriculture, and microbial ecology.
Ants, Plants, and Seed Dispersal
Ants participate in numerous ecological relationships with plants. They may act as predators of herbivores, defenders of plants, consumers of nectar, seed dispersers, and occasional pollinators.
One particularly important interaction is myrmecochory, in which ants transport seeds. Seeds with nutritious structures attract ants, which carry them toward their nests. This process can influence plant distribution and regeneration.
Human activity can interfere with these ecological services. Research on urban ants suggests that access to processed human foods may distract ants from natural seed-dispersal behavior, potentially changing interactions between ants and plants.
Ants also frequently interact with aphids and other honeydew-producing insects. Ants obtain carbohydrate-rich honeydew while sometimes protecting these insects from predators and parasitoids. Although beneficial to the ants and aphids, this relationship can increase plant and agricultural damage by reducing natural biological control.
Ants as Ecosystem Engineers
Ant colonies can substantially modify their physical surroundings. Nest construction changes soil structure, aeration, nutrient movement, and water infiltration. Ant activities also influence decomposition, seed movement, food webs, and interactions among other organisms.
Because ants are abundant and sensitive to environmental conditions, changes in ant communities can provide evidence of broader ecological disruption. Research has demonstrated that habitat disturbance and forest clearing can alter ant abundance, species richness, and community composition.
These changes can also create opportunities for invasive species. Disturbed habitats may lose native ants while becoming more favorable to invasive ants capable of reorganizing local ecological communities.
Invasive Ants and Fire Ants
Several ant species have become important biological invaders. Red imported fire ants, Argentine ants, tawny crazy ants, longhorn crazy ants, and other invasive species can establish large populations outside their original ranges.
Argentine ants can form vast interconnected supercolonies and displace native ants. Tawny crazy ants can reach extraordinary densities and alter communities of insects and other organisms. Imported fire ants affect agriculture, wildlife, native arthropods, and people while also creating significant management costs.
Fire ants are particularly well studied because of their ecological and economic importance. Research has examined their effects on mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, crops, livestock, and native invertebrates. Their ability to construct floating rafts and other collective structures also provides striking examples of self-organized behavior.
Governments use quarantines and other measures to limit the spread of invasive ants through soil, nursery plants, sod, equipment, and transported materials.
Ant Health, Disease, and Social Immunity
Dense social colonies create opportunities for infectious disease, but ants have evolved numerous mechanisms for controlling pathogens. Workers can groom nest mates, disinfect contaminated material, remove infected individuals, and use antimicrobial substances.
Research has documented ants detecting infected brood and taking actions that reduce disease transmission. Some colonies may kill terminally infected individuals before pathogens can spread widely through the population.
Ants themselves are also hosts for remarkable parasites. Ophiocordyceps and related fungi can manipulate infected ants, altering their behavior before death in ways that improve fungal reproduction and transmission. Fossil evidence suggests that this type of behavioral manipulation has existed for tens of millions of years.
Other parasites employ similarly complex strategies. Lancet liver flukes, for example, manipulate infected ants in ways that increase the probability that the ants will be consumed by grazing mammals, allowing the parasite to continue its life cycle.
Ant Species and Specialized Lifestyles
Ant diversity has produced an extraordinary variety of lifestyles. Army ants conduct coordinated mass raids and often follow nomadic colony cycles. Harvester ants collect seeds and have become important scientific models for studying decentralized decision-making and desert ecology.
Carpenter ants excavate galleries in wood to construct nests. Unlike termites, they do not consume the wood, although large colonies can still become significant structural pests.
Leafcutter ants maintain elaborate fungus-growing agricultural systems, while specialized ant species have evolved unusual defensive structures, reproductive strategies, and ecological partnerships.
Even interactions among ant species can be unexpected. Researchers have documented small ants apparently grooming much larger harvester ants, demonstrating that important forms of interspecies behavior remain to be discovered.
Ants and Human Environments
Ants frequently occupy homes, gardens, agricultural systems, cities, and other human-altered environments. Species such as carpenter ants, pavement ants, odorous house ants, Pharaoh ants, Argentine ants, and fire ants can become important household or structural pests.
Effective management depends heavily on species identification because different ants have different nesting habits, diets, colony structures, and responses to control measures. Integrated pest-management approaches emphasize sanitation, exclusion, reduction of food and water sources, nest identification, monitoring, habitat modification, and targeted baiting rather than indiscriminate spraying.
Agricultural interactions are similarly complex. Ants can provide ecological benefits, but they can also protect aphids, scales, mealybugs, and other crop pests from predators. Invasive fire ants can directly damage crops and livestock and impose additional costs on agricultural producers.
Environmental Change and Conservation
Ant populations respond to habitat destruction, pesticides, invasive species, land-use changes, and other environmental pressures. Studies of disturbed forests demonstrate that major habitat alteration can reduce native species richness and change community composition.
Research on island ant communities provides evidence that substantial declines can occur without receiving the attention given to losses among larger animals. Museum DNA records from Fiji, for example, have revealed historical changes in native ant communities that might otherwise have remained largely invisible.
Despite their ecological importance, ants remain comparatively poorly represented in conservation assessments. Expanding monitoring and research could therefore provide a clearer picture of insect biodiversity decline and its consequences for terrestrial ecosystems.
Ants as Scientific Models
Ants provide scientists with natural laboratories for studying social evolution, division of labor, communication, cognition, disease control, cooperation, conflict, navigation, agriculture, and collective decision-making.
Their societies demonstrate how highly organized systems can emerge without centralized command. Colony-level patterns arise through interactions among thousands or even millions of individuals responding to local information.
These properties have implications extending beyond entomology. Ant research contributes to questions involving network organization, robotics, optimization, epidemiology, agriculture, evolutionary biology, and the general principles governing complex systems.
Why Ants Matter
Ants influence terrestrial ecosystems through soil modification, decomposition, nutrient cycling, seed dispersal, predation, competition, plant protection, and numerous mutualistic and parasitic relationships. Their abundance means that even relatively small behavioral changes can have ecological consequences at much larger scales.
At the same time, ants demonstrate the extraordinary evolutionary possibilities created by social cooperation. Their colonies farm food, construct elaborate nests, organize transportation networks, fight pathogens, navigate complex landscapes, and coordinate the activities of enormous populations without centralized leadership.
Conclusion
Ants are far more than familiar insects encountered in homes and gardens. They are ancient, diverse, highly organized organisms that play fundamental roles in terrestrial ecosystems and provide scientists with powerful models for understanding evolution and collective life.
Research continues to reveal unexpected dimensions of ant biology, from lunar navigation and agricultural symbioses to social immunity and interspecies grooming. Yet thousands of species remain poorly studied, particularly in biologically rich tropical regions. Protecting ant diversity and expanding scientific research are therefore important not only for understanding ants themselves but also for understanding the ecological systems in which they are deeply embedded.
Ant Ecology, Diversity, and Evolution
| Vanessa Crooks | Smithsonian Magazine / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | February 6, 2026
Research finds major gaps in scientific knowledge of Neotropical ant behavior despite the region containing thousands of ant species.
| Vanessa Crooks | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | February 5, 2026
A review of recent research finds that only a small fraction of the more than 3,400 known Neotropical ant species have received substantial behavioral study.
| Australian National University | ANU | September 16, 2025
Museum DNA records reveal substantial historical declines among Fiji's native ants, illustrating the broader problem of overlooked insect biodiversity loss.
| Chris R. Smith et al. | Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology / PubMed | 2010
Ants are examined as model organisms for understanding social complexity, division of labor, ecology, evolution, development, and chemical communication.
| Steve Bradt | Harvard Gazette | April 13, 2006
Molecular evidence suggests ants originated roughly 140–168 million years ago and diversified alongside flowering plants.
| J.H. Graham et al. | U.S. Geological Survey / Journal of Insect Science | 2004
A four-year study found that severe habitat disturbance reduced ant species richness and altered community structure in southeastern U.S. sandhills.
Experimental research shows forest clear-cutting can reduce native ant abundance while encouraging colonization by invasive fire ants.
| Blaine Friedlander | Cornell Chronicle | May 5, 2003
Genetic research indicates modern army ants descended from a common ancestor and that their distinctive lifestyle evolved more than 100 million years ago.
Ant Behavior and Social Organization
| Margherita Bassi | Smithsonian Magazine | April 16, 2026
Observations in Arizona reveal small ants climbing onto and grooming much larger harvester ants in what may be a mutually beneficial cleaning relationship.
| Smithsonian Institution | Smithsonian Institution | April 13, 2026
Researchers document an unusual interaction in which small cone ants groom much larger harvester ants, representing a previously unknown form of interspecies ant behavior.
| Jack Tamisiea | Smithsonian Magazine / National Museum of Natural History | April 13, 2026
Entomologist Mark Moffett discusses the extraordinary social biology of ants, including their farming, engineering, warfare, and colony organization.
| Meihong Wu et al. | arXiv | April 9, 2022
Researchers created a large dataset of ant movement trajectories to investigate collective motion, clustering, and social behavior.
Ants and Human-Altered Environments
| Katie Cottingham | Smithsonian Magazine | June 16, 2026
Urban ants attracted to processed human food may spend less time dispersing seeds, potentially altering an important ecological service.
| National Pesticide Information Center | Oregon State University / NPIC | April 21, 2026
Practical guidance emphasizes species identification, sanitation, exclusion, nest removal, and lower-toxicity approaches to ant management.
Ants in nurseries and greenhouses can protect aphids, scales, mealybugs, and other honeydew-producing insects from predators, indirectly increasing crop damage.
| UC Statewide IPM Program | University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources | 2012
An overview of common ants, their ecological roles, household conflicts, identification, and integrated approaches to managing problem colonies.
| Tabatha Carroll and Gary Bennett | Penn State Department of Entomology | n.d.
A guide to 21 economically important North American ant species explains identification, nesting behavior, feeding habits, and pest management.
Invasive Ants and Fire Ants
| USDA Agricultural Research Service | USDA ARS | 2018
The USDA research plan describes fire ants and other invasive ants as significant agricultural, environmental, medical, and urban pests.
| Roberto M. Pereira et al. | USDA Agricultural Research Service | 2005
A review discusses fire-ant impacts on people, agriculture, wildlife, arthropods, reptiles, birds, rodents, and amphibians.
A review examines evidence that invasive red imported fire ants affect mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and other wildlife.
| Craig R. Allen, D.M. Epperson and A.S. Garmestani | U.S. Geological Survey | 2004
Research summarizes a decade of evidence concerning ecological impacts of red imported fire ants on native vertebrate communities.
| P.M. Bishop et al. | USDA Agricultural Research Service | 1990
Researchers describe inexpensive laboratory nests developed for maintaining imported fire-ant colonies for biological and control studies.
| C.S. Lofgren and R.K. Vander Meer, editors | USDA Agricultural Research Service | 1986
A major collection examines the biology, history, spread, economic significance, and management of fire ants and leaf-cutting ants.
| C.S. Lofgren | USDA Agricultural Research Service | 1980
An overview of the federal fire-ant research program discusses biology, ecology, economic impacts, reproduction, and strategies for controlling invasive populations.
Field observations document severe corn losses associated with feeding by imported fire ants.
Ant Agriculture and Fungus Farming
| Smithsonian Institution | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.
Smithsonian resources explore ant diversity, biology, social organization, ecological interactions, and evolutionary adaptations.
| California Academy of Sciences | AntWeb | n.d.
AntWeb provides a global scientific database of ant taxonomy, specimens, photographs, distributions, and biodiversity records.
| AntWiki Contributors | AntWiki | n.d.
A collaborative scientific reference provides extensive information about ant taxonomy, natural history, distribution, ecology, and research literature.
| USDA Forest Service | U.S. Forest Service | n.d.
An overview examines ants as flower visitors and their complex and sometimes overlooked relationships with plants.
Leafcutter Ants
| Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | 2025
Research examines how carrying oversized leaf fragments can restrict the visual field of leafcutter ants as they travel along colony trails.
| Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | Smithsonian Magazine | 2025
Smithsonian research highlights leafcutter-ant navigation, tropical ant ecology, plant-ant mutualisms, and other behavioral discoveries.
| University of Michigan Museum of Zoology | Animal Diversity Web | n.d.
A species account describes the biology, habitat, reproduction, behavior, and fungus-growing lifestyle of the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes.
Carpenter Ants
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | n.d.
A practical guide describes carpenter-ant identification, nesting, life history, structural damage, and management.
| Penn State Extension | Pennsylvania State University | n.d.
Carpenter ants excavate galleries in wood for nesting but, unlike termites, do not consume the wood itself.
| University of Kentucky Entomology | University of Kentucky | n.d.
A guide explains carpenter-ant biology, signs of infestation, nesting behavior, and approaches to structural management.
| North Carolina State Extension | NC State University | n.d.
Information on carpenter-ant colonies explains their nesting requirements, behavior, identification, and importance as structural pests.
Argentine Ants
| UC Statewide IPM Program | University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources | n.d.
Argentine ants form enormous interconnected colonies and are among the most important invasive household and ecological pest ants.
| Center for Invasive Species Research | University of California, Riverside | n.d.
An overview explains the invasion biology, distribution, ecological effects, and management of Argentine ants.
| National Invasive Species Information Center | USDA | n.d.
Federal resources summarize Argentine-ant biology, invasive distribution, impacts, and management information.
Red Imported Fire Ants
| University of Florida Entomology | University of Florida | n.d.
A detailed species profile covers the identification, life cycle, colonies, distribution, feeding behavior, stings, and management of red imported fire ants.
| National Invasive Species Information Center | USDA | n.d.
Federal resources describe imported fire ants, their distribution, ecological and agricultural effects, and management programs.
| USDA APHIS | U.S. Department of Agriculture | n.d.
USDA information explains the imported fire-ant quarantine and efforts to limit movement of the invasive insects through transported materials.
| Texas A&M AgriLife Extension | Texas A&M University | n.d.
A comprehensive fire-ant resource covers biology, identification, integrated pest management, agricultural impacts, and public safety.
Crazy Ants
| University of Florida Entomology | University of Florida | n.d.
A species account explains the biology and distinctive erratic foraging behavior of the longhorn crazy ant.
| University of Florida Entomology | University of Florida | n.d.
Information on tawny crazy ants covers identification, biology, invasive spread, enormous colony densities, and management challenges.
| National Invasive Species Information Center | USDA | n.d.
Federal resources summarize the spread and environmental and economic effects of the invasive tawny crazy ant.
Pharaoh, Odorous House, and Pavement Ants
| University of Florida Entomology | University of Florida | n.d.
Pharaoh ants are tiny, globally distributed indoor ants whose colonies can fragment when disturbed, complicating pest management.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | n.d.
A household-ant guide discusses common species including pavement ants, odorous house ants, carpenter ants, and other frequently encountered ants.
| Colorado State University Extension | Colorado State University | n.d.
A guide explains common household ants, colony behavior, nesting sites, prevention, and management.
Ant Anatomy and Life Cycle
| Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors | Encyclopaedia Britannica | n.d.
A broad overview covers ant anatomy, caste systems, colonies, reproduction, distribution, behavior, and ecological significance.
| University of Michigan Museum of Zoology | Animal Diversity Web | n.d.
A family-level account describes Formicidae anatomy, reproduction, development, behavior, habitat, and ecological relationships.
| Smithsonian Institution | Smithsonian Institution | n.d.
Smithsonian educational material introduces ant biology, colony structure, identification, and interactions with humans.
Ant Communication
| Researchers | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B | 2010
Research examines chemical communication and recognition systems underlying insect societies.
| Researchers | National Center for Biotechnology Information | n.d.
Scientific research explores chemical communication and recognition mechanisms that enable ants to organize complex societies.
| Various Researchers | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | n.d.
Research literature explores ant cognition, social organization, communication, ecology, and collective behavior.
Ant Intelligence and Collective Behavior
| Various Researchers | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | n.d.
Scientific studies of collective behavior help explain how decentralized insect societies coordinate complex colony-level activities.
| Various Authors | Science | n.d.
Research and news articles examine ant evolution, genetics, social behavior, ecology, navigation, and collective intelligence.
| Various Researchers | Nature Portfolio | n.d.
Scientific literature on social behavior includes studies of ants and other social organisms used to understand collective decision-making.
Army Ants
| University of Michigan Museum of Zoology | Animal Diversity Web | n.d.
A species account examines the spectacular mass-raiding behavior and nomadic colony cycle of Eciton army ants.
| Encyclopaedia Britannica Editors | Encyclopaedia Britannica | n.d.
An overview explains army-ant mass foraging, nomadic behavior, colony organization, and geographic distribution.
Harvester Ants
| University of Michigan Museum of Zoology | Animal Diversity Web | n.d.
A species account describes red harvester-ant ecology, seed collection, reproduction, colony organization, and desert adaptations.
| University of Florida Entomology | University of Florida | n.d.
A guide describes harvester-ant identification, biology, nesting, seed gathering, and interactions with humans.
Ants and Plants
| USDA Forest Service | U.S. Forest Service | n.d.
Educational resources explore the ecological importance and diversity of ants in forests and other terrestrial ecosystems.
| National Park Service | U.S. National Park Service | n.d.
National Park Service resources discuss ants as abundant and ecologically important components of terrestrial ecosystems.
Ant Seed Dispersal
| USDA Forest Service | U.S. Forest Service | n.d.
Myrmecochory is the process through which ants disperse seeds, often carrying seeds with nutritious appendages back toward their nests.
Ants and Aphids
| UC Statewide IPM Program | University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources | n.d.
Ants frequently protect honeydew-producing aphids from predators, creating an important ecological relationship with consequences for plants.
| University of Minnesota Extension | University of Minnesota | n.d.
Aphid colonies often attract ants that consume honeydew and may protect the aphids from beneficial predators.
Ants as Ecosystem Engineers
| National Park Service | U.S. National Park Service | n.d.
Ant colonies influence soil structure, nutrient movement, decomposition, seed distribution, and interactions among other organisms.
Ant Biodiversity Databases
| Barry Bolton | AntCat | n.d.
AntCat is an authoritative online catalog of the world's ants and the scientific literature associated with their taxonomy.
| Evan Economo and Benoit Guénard | AntMaps | n.d.
AntMaps visualizes global geographic distributions of ant species using published biodiversity records.
| Global Biodiversity Information Facility | GBIF | n.d.
GBIF provides millions of occurrence records useful for investigating the geographic distribution and diversity of ants.
Ant Taxonomy and Identification
| California Academy of Sciences | AntWeb | n.d.
A taxonomic portal provides images and classification information for Formicidae from collections throughout the world.
| BugGuide Contributors | Iowa State University Department of Entomology | n.d.
BugGuide provides photographs and identification resources for North American ants.
| University of Florida Entomology | University of Florida | n.d.
Identification resources describe numerous ant species encountered in homes, agricultural landscapes, and natural environments.
Ants and Climate Change
| U.S. Forest Service Researchers | USDA Forest Service | n.d.
Forest research includes studies using insect communities, including ants, to understand ecological responses to environmental change.
| U.S. Geological Survey | USGS | n.d.
Ecosystem research investigates how climate, land use, invasive species, and habitat change affect terrestrial biological communities.
Ant Conservation
| International Union for Conservation of Nature | IUCN Red List | n.d.
Conservation assessments reveal that ants, despite their ecological importance, remain poorly assessed compared with many vertebrate groups.
Recent Ant Research
| Rockefeller University | ScienceDaily | August 1, 2026
Researchers studying clonal raider ants found that neural signals related to hunger also regulate caregiving, offering clues to the evolutionary origins of parenting behavior.
| K. R. Callaway | Scientific American | May 17, 2026
Nocturnal bull ants use a lunar compass to navigate after sunset, revealing a sophisticated orientation system adapted to the changing position of the moon.
| K. R. Callaway | Scientific American | March 5, 2026
The Antscan project is creating high-resolution three-dimensional digital models of ant anatomy using synchrotron-powered CT scanning.
| Institute of Science and Technology Austria | ScienceDaily | December 3, 2025
Fatally infected ant pupae emit chemical signals that cause workers to open their cocoons and disinfect them, preventing disease from spreading through the colony.
Ant Agriculture
| Smithsonian | ScienceDaily | October 3, 2024
Genetic evidence indicates fungus farming by ants began around 66 million years ago, near the time of the asteroid impact that ended the age of non-avian dinosaurs.
| DOE / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ScienceDaily | February 5, 2024
Scientists mapped molecular interactions inside leafcutter-ant fungus gardens, revealing how ants, fungi, and bacteria cooperate to break down plant material.
| University of Copenhagen | ScienceDaily | November 4, 2020
Fungus-growing ants have maintained agricultural systems through millions of years of climate change by cultivating resilient fungal crops.
| Cell Press | ScienceDaily | September 27, 2019
Fungus-farming ants have used antimicrobial-producing bacteria for millions of years, potentially offering lessons for addressing antibiotic resistance.
| Rice University | ScienceDaily | May 9, 2018
Genetic analyses indicate the ecological success of leafcutter ants arose through complex coevolutionary relationships rather than simply adopting a superior fungal crop.
| Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | ScienceDaily | July 20, 2016
Genomic research reconstructs the evolution of ant agriculture from small fungus gardens to the industrial-scale farming practiced by modern leafcutters.
| Rice University | ScienceDaily | October 7, 2015
Scientists identified fungal strains that attack the cultivated fungus upon which leafcutter ants depend, suggesting possible biological-control strategies.
| University of Copenhagen | ScienceDaily | December 12, 2014
Fungus-growing ants have selectively cultivated increasingly productive fungal crops during millions of years of agricultural evolution.
| DOE / Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | ScienceDaily | March 1, 2012
Bacteria living in leafcutter fungus gardens help decompose harvested vegetation and transform it into nutrients available to ants and their fungal crops.
| University of Wisconsin–Madison | ScienceDaily | February 18, 2011
Sequencing of the leafcutter ant Atta cephalotes revealed genetic adaptations associated with its dependence on fungus farming.
| Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute | ScienceDaily | April 12, 2009
Leafcutter ants and their cultivated fungi cooperate to prevent potentially damaging foreign fungi from invading their agricultural system.
| Smithsonian | ScienceDaily | March 25, 2008
DNA evidence indicates fungus-growing ants descended from a common agricultural ancestor that began farming roughly 50 million years ago.
Ant Navigation and Intelligence
| Rockefeller University | ScienceDaily | July 22, 2022
Ant colonies collectively decide when to evacuate dangerous temperatures through processes resembling computations performed by neural networks.
| British Ecological Society | ScienceDaily | October 8, 2020
Black imported fire ants alter their use of sand as a tool when confronted with dangerous liquid food sources.
| University of Bristol | ScienceDaily | June 19, 2020
Researchers studying how ants explore territory developed mathematical sampling strategies inspired by their decentralized search behavior.
| eLife | ScienceDaily | May 12, 2020
Cooperative transport allows ants to collectively solve navigation problems that would overwhelm individual insects.
| CNRS | ScienceDaily | October 22, 2019
Ant trails remain remarkably free of traffic jams because individuals adjust their movement behavior according to crowding.
| American Association for the Advancement of Science | ScienceDaily | September 12, 2016
Desert ants possess separate visual and step-counting systems for estimating the distances they have traveled.
Colony Organization
| Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz | ScienceDaily | March 26, 2024
Experiments demonstrate that an ant queen's behavioral specialization can be shaped substantially by the colony's social environment.
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | June 12, 2019
Ants modify their spatial distribution and interactions to preserve essential social connections when colony density changes.
| Oxford University Press USA | ScienceDaily | December 5, 2017
Colonies of Azteca ants display distinct behavioral personalities that may influence the health of the trees they protect.
| Universität Mainz | ScienceDaily | March 8, 2016
Highly specialized division of labor can make ant colonies less capable of responding successfully to sudden environmental disruptions.
| University of California, San Diego | ScienceDaily | October 20, 2015
Harvester-ant nests with more interconnected chambers allow information about food discoveries to spread more rapidly among workers.
| Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg | ScienceDaily | September 11, 2012
Young leafcutter queens that fail to reproduce can switch roles and become workers that defend and maintain their original colony.
| University of Melbourne | ScienceDaily | February 21, 2012
Weaver-ant colonies retain collective memories of the chemical odors of neighboring rivals.
| Universität Mainz | ScienceDaily | July 11, 2011
Ant colonies containing workers with varied levels of aggression can achieve greater productivity than colonies with more uniform behavior.
| American Physiological Society | ScienceDaily | August 28, 2010
Measurements of harvester-ant colonies provide insights into how metabolism changes as biological systems increase in size.
| Harvard University | ScienceDaily | November 18, 2009
Queenless army-ant workers may join neighboring colonies rather than being attacked as outsiders.
| CNRS | ScienceDaily | July 9, 2008
Rhytidoponera ant colonies modify reproductive strategies according to environmental conditions and the likelihood of successful colony founding.
Ant Health and Social Immunity
| Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg | ScienceDaily | November 3, 2020
Formicine ants swallow their own formic acid to kill harmful microbes in food and help regulate their gut microbiome.
| University of Bern | ScienceDaily | July 1, 2020
Long-term exposure to low levels of neonicotinoid insecticides can impair growth and development in black garden-ant colonies.
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | March 13, 2018
Carpenter ants infected by zombie-ant fungi remain socially accepted by nest mates until leaving the colony shortly before death.
| Institute of Science and Technology Austria | ScienceDaily | January 9, 2018
Ant colonies sometimes kill terminally infected nest mates to prevent contagious pathogens from producing an epidemic.
Zombie Ants and Parasites
| University of Copenhagen | ScienceDaily | September 18, 2023
Lancet liver flukes manipulate infected ants into climbing vegetation during cool periods, increasing their chances of being eaten by grazing mammals.
| University of Central Florida | ScienceDaily | November 6, 2017
Researchers discovered a functioning biological clock in a zombie-ant fungus that may help coordinate manipulation of its host.
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | August 25, 2014
Zombie-ant fungi release different chemicals when encountering the brains of their preferred ant hosts, demonstrating remarkable host specialization.
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | August 19, 2014
Parasitic fungi manipulate carpenter ants into dying near colony foraging routes where fungal spores can infect new workers.
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | May 2, 2012
A hyperparasitic fungus attacks zombie-ant fungi and dramatically reduces their ability to produce infectious spores.
| Penn State | ScienceDaily | May 9, 2011
Microscopic studies reveal how Ophiocordyceps infection damages ant muscles and nervous systems while inducing the famous death-grip behavior.
| University of Exeter | ScienceDaily | August 18, 2010
Fossilized leaf scars provide evidence that fungi were manipulating ants into performing characteristic death bites at least 48 million years ago.
| University of Chicago Press Journals | ScienceDaily | August 13, 2009
Zombie-ant fungi precisely manipulate infected carpenter ants into dying in humid locations favorable for fungal growth and reproduction.
Fire Ants
| Binghamton University | ScienceDaily | May 15, 2024
Fire-ant rafts are dynamic, self-healing structures whose behavior may inspire the design of adaptable engineered materials.
| University of Barcelona | ScienceDaily | January 19, 2023
Active-matter physics provides a mathematical framework for understanding collective movements by red imported fire ants.
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | ScienceDaily | February 18, 2015
Genetic evidence traces the worldwide spread of tropical fire ants to Spanish trading ships operating across the Pacific beginning in the 1500s.
| University of Texas at Austin | ScienceDaily | February 23, 2004
Researchers investigated phorid flies that decapitate imported fire ants as potential biological-control agents.
Invasive Ants
| USDA APHIS | U.S. Department of Agriculture | 2026
USDA explains why interstate movement and importation of ants are regulated because introduced species can become damaging agricultural and ecological invaders.
| Allen et al. | USDA Agricultural Research Service | 2003
Long-term research examined how native arthropod communities changed following invasion by red imported fire ants.
Ant Evolution and Morphology
| Arizona State University | ScienceDaily | May 18, 2021
Genome sequencing of socially parasitic leaf-cutting ants reveals genetic deterioration associated with losing normal worker and colony behaviors.
| Pensoft Publishers | ScienceDaily | May 6, 2021
Scientists described the Ecuadorian trap-jaw ant Strumigenys ayersthey, notable both for its unusual anatomy and its distinctive species name.
| Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology | ScienceDaily | October 19, 2020
Three-dimensional anatomical studies suggest that losing flight allowed worker ants to evolve enlarged muscles and exceptional physical strength.
| University of Utah | ScienceDaily | November 13, 2019
Ant specialist Jack Longino discovered an unusual ant in his own Utah garden, eventually determining that it represented a newly recognized species.
Ant-Plant Relationships
| Aarhus University | ScienceDaily | October 17, 2019
Ant-associated antibiotics can suppress at least 14 plant diseases, suggesting possible applications in biological crop protection.
| PLOS | ScienceDaily | October 3, 2019
Analysis of thousands of scientific papers indicates that ant-plant mutualisms tend to emerge after ant lineages diversify rather than causing diversification themselves.
| University of Pennsylvania | ScienceDaily | July 18, 2019
Researchers identified genetic mechanisms regulating when acacia plants begin producing food and shelter for their protective ant partners.
| Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo | ScienceDaily | July 17, 2019
Ants defending plants may receive both carbohydrate-rich nectar and protein obtained from herbivorous insects.
| University of Oxford | ScienceDaily | June 25, 2019
Long-term associations with farming ants have altered plant physiology, enabling specialized structures to absorb nutrients deposited in ant feces.
| Melissa R. L. Whitaker and Bonnie J. Stolzmann | Frontiers for Young Minds | April 9, 2019
Ants provide accessible examples of ecological relationships including competition, predation, parasitism, and mutualism.
Ant Defense and Chemical Ecology
| University of Bath | ScienceDaily | August 27, 2020
Slow-release systems containing ant pheromones could attract leafcutting ants to targeted pesticide traps and reduce widespread insecticide spraying.
| University of East Anglia | ScienceDaily | June 7, 2018
Researchers investigated chemical weapons used by parasitic fungi to attack the fungus gardens cultivated by leafcutter ants.
Unusual Ant Interactions
| Entomological Society of America | Entomology Today | August 13, 2018
A predatory fly larva exploits ant-plant mutualisms by constructing sticky shelters near nectaries and capturing visiting Camponotus ants.
| Josh Lancette | Entomology Today | May 4, 2016
A newly described Panamanian fly became the first member of its family known to parasitize ant larvae.
| Entomological Society of America | Entomology Today | October 6, 2015
Researchers described African Carebara ants whose specialized soldiers use shield-shaped heads to block nest entrances.
Collective Ant Behavior
| Georgia Institute of Technology | ScienceDaily | July 12, 2017
Fire ants collectively construct tall living towers without centralized planning, continuously rebuilding them as lower ants move out of the structure.
| Deborah M. Gordon | Scientific American | March 1, 2016
Long-running studies of harvester ants show how colonies regulate foraging through decentralized interactions rather than commands from leaders.
Ant Ecology
| Brian L. Fisher and Stefan P. Cover | University of California Press | 2007
An introduction to North American ants explains their enormous ecological importance in nutrient cycling, soil turnover, seed dispersal, decomposition, and ecosystem monitoring.
Historical Ant Research
| Louis I. Dublin | Scientific American | November 2, 1907
An early scientific account discusses mixed ant colonies, interspecific competition, nest sharing, and social relationships among different ants.
| Scientific American | Scientific American | April 7, 1906
A historical article reflects early twentieth-century scientific interest in the organization and behavior of ant societies.
| Scientific American | Scientific American | March 6, 1875
A nineteenth-century Scientific American article illustrates the long history of popular and scientific fascination with ants.
| Scientific American | Scientific American | July 4, 1857
One of Scientific American's early treatments of ants examines their senses and behavior from a nineteenth-century perspective.
