Articles tagged with Ants
Desert ants have an internal navigation system that allows them to measure distance by recording steps taken and orient themselves using the sun. In a lab experiment, researchers created a spherical treadmill for the ants to navigate on, showing high precision in their navigation skills.
Researchers have discovered a new, potent antibiotic against MRSA and VRE bacteria. The formicamycins produced by Streptomyces formicae isolated from an African plant-ant show promising activity in early tests.
A newly discovered beetle species, Nymphister kronaueri, has been found to hitch a ride on the back of army ants as a means of transportation. The beetle uses its strong mandibles to anchor itself tightly to the ant's body, mimicking the shape and appearance of the ant's abdomen.
Scientists have video-documented two types of brood parasitism by scuttle flies, attacking immature ants in Brazil and Costa Rica. The observation reveals that these behaviors may not be as rare as previously thought, offering a glimpse into the remarkable behaviors of phorid flies.
A University of California, Riverside graduate student has discovered several new species of wasps that feed on ants, including one named after musician Ani DiFranco. These wasps have a unique association with extrafloral nectaries and can potentially control invasive ant populations.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh discovered that ants walking backwards use the sun's position and visual memories to set a course relative to the sun. This flexible navigational behavior could inspire novel computer algorithms for guiding robots.
Researchers found that ants can decouple their direction of travel from their body orientation, maintaining a northerly direction by going forward or backward. This challenges the notion of simple stimulus-response behaviors in insects.
The California Academy of Sciences has added 133 new plant and animal species to the world's family tree, including a deep-sea fish, sharks, ants, beetles, birds, and coral. These discoveries were made by over a dozen scientists and collaborators across five continents and three oceans.
Researchers found evidence of stabilizing selection that maintains functional characteristics in ant populations. The study revealed significant genetic differences and limited gene flow among ant populations, suggesting that natural selection acts on important traits while less critical traits diversify over time.
Researchers found that morning people are faster at solving attention-related tasks, but make more mistakes. In contrast, evening people are slower but more accurate in completing similar tasks, suggesting a trade-off between speed and accuracy with sleep deprivation.
Researchers discovered that ants share proteins and hormones through trophallaxis, allowing them to collectively influence colony growth and development. This process enables ants to cast 'quantitative ballots' for their colony's future by administering different amounts of growth-promoting components to their larvae.
Scientists have discovered a new dominant ant species in Ethiopia displaying signs of supercolony formation, expanding rapidly into disturbed habitats and potentially posing a global threat. The species, Lepisiota canescens, exhibits characteristics reminiscent of invasive species, including high densities and ecological dominance.
A study by LMU researchers demonstrates that ants have cultivated their plant partners at least three million years ago, long before humans. The interaction is vital for the survival of both partners, with ants providing nutrients to epiphytes in exchange for nesting sites.
A new study by STRI researchers confirms that trees in tropical forests are like islands, with different species living on each one. The number of ant species found on a tree is positively correlated with the size of the liana-free area around it.
A five-year study in Harvard and Duke forests found that adding warmth predicted in climate-change models destabilized forest ant communities. The loss of stability makes communities less resilient and slower to rebound when disturbed, with relative abundance of thermophilic species growing while heat-intolerant species declining.
A study on carpenter ants found that social information can override an individual's assessment of a food source as toxic. Ants will collect toxic food if it is associated with a familiar odor, despite their own evaluation of its toxicity.
Recent genomic study provides evidence that land bridges likely connected the Americas millions of years earlier than previously thought. Army ants were chosen for their unique biology, which allowed researchers to rule out aerial and aquatic dispersal when studying colonization of Central America.
A team of researchers discovered that the tiny yellow-striped Amazonian frog has a special skin chemical that allows it to live comfortably among leaf-cutting ants. The frogs' skin extracts mimic the ants' own chemical signals, preventing attacks and enabling coexistence.
A study published by Texas A&M scientists found that red imported fire ants can increase the abundance of small mammals and reduce the number of ticks in an ecosystem. This could lead to a decrease in tick-borne disease transmission to humans and animals.
A new rare ant species, Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, has been discovered in the stomach of a Little Devil poison frog in Ecuador. The ant is the seventh known species in its rarely collected Neotropical genus and features a slender elongate mouthpart.
A new study reveals that certain ants can rely solely on optic flow to find their way back to their nest when lost. This unique system allows them to calculate distance independently of their internal odometer mechanism, giving them two navigation systems.
A University of Liverpool study found that ant colour and size are strongly influenced by their environment, with larger bodied ectotherms with dark colouration thriving in cold places. The study also revealed that ants adapt to changing temperatures by shifting from darker to lighter colours and smaller body sizes.
Researchers at Hokkaido University found that ants have a preference for aphid colonies with certain colors, which allows these bugs to retain their colors through generations. The team discovered that the number of attending ants was highest when green aphids comprised 65% of the colony.
A new study reveals that leaf-cutter ants have not fully domesticated their fungal symbionts, despite having a mutually beneficial relationship. The ants adjust the nutrient content of their mulch to minimize mushroom production, but this strategy has constraints on productivity.
A wood ant colony has thrived in a Polish nuclear bunker for years, defying the harsh conditions of extreme cold and darkness. The colony's population has grown to hundreds of thousands, with researchers finding evidence of complex social behavior and even repair work on their nest.
Mole rat castes were previously believed to be fixed throughout their lives, but a new study shows that individuals perform different roles at different ages. As they grow older, mole rats become more generalists, participating in various activities and contributing to cooperative efforts.
A new ant species reminiscent of 'Game of Thrones' dragons has been identified in the tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea. The researchers used X-Ray microtomography to create virtual specimens, enabling them to analyze and share findings with scientists worldwide.
Two new, highly adorned ant species, Pheidole viserion and Pheidole drogon, have been discovered in New Guinea. These 'dragon-like' ants feature large, distinctive spines that may help support their massive heads.
Researchers have discovered six new infestations of the invasive Lasius neglectus ant in the UK, which are capable of dramatically altering ecosystems and driving native species to extinction. The ants pose no threat to humans but can out-compete native ants for resources, highlighting the need for management on a national scale.
Researchers discovered that reversing desert ants use an odometer-like mechanism to track distance and orientation while moving in reverse. The ants increase ground contact by using leg combinations and swing faster to maintain stability.
A team of scientists discovered that ants first switched to farming fungi 55-60 million years ago, marking the beginning of a mutual adaptation. Leafcutter ants have since developed industrial-scale farming, producing protein-rich bulbs and thriving on an enormous scale.
House-hunting ants use tandem running to inform colony members about a new nest, increasing the discovery rate and speeding up migration. By regulating their running rate based on distance, ants efficiently minimize transit time and risk involved in migrating longer distances.
Researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory propose a theoretical framework for estimating population density in networks, which converges quickly and is more accurate than random sampling. This approach has practical applications in analyzing social networks, robot swarms, and ad hoc networks.
Army ants create underground bivouacs that maintain a consistent temperature 13 degrees F warmer than surface temperatures. This allows the colony to stay mobile and raise their young offspring, which is critical for their survival at high elevations.
Researchers are studying how microbes control ant behaviors using $2.56 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. The goal is to understand the complex collective behavior of fungi, which can precisely control their hosts' actions.
A recent study published in Journal of Biogeography reveals that ant communities across Asia are shaped by past land connections during the Last Glacial Maximum, rather than current geographical features. Temperature was found to be the dominant factor in determining ant community patterns.
Cretaceous fossils provide insights into the early diversification of ants, with some species exhibiting advanced social behavior. The discovery of Ceratomyrmex ellenbergeri highlights the importance of morphological specializations in ant evolution.
Researchers found a sharp decline in ant biodiversity in rubber plantations, with significant losses in species richness and functional diversity. The study suggests that ecological filters like rubber plantations select specific subsets of species, contributing to biodiversity loss.
Researchers found that ants form rafts with different members occupying specific positions based on experience, demonstrating collective memory and cooperation. This phenomenon has implications for our understanding of social insects and potential applications in robotics and medicine.
Researchers discovered that Saharan silver ant hairs use total internal reflection to reflect sunlight, resulting in a bright silver color. This adaptation allows the ants to stay up to 2°C cooler under simulated sunlight, making them well-suited for desert survival.
Researchers analyzed 16 ant species to understand queen-worker differences, finding conserved gene sets associated with traits like queen numbers and worker sterility. This study provides insight into the evolution of gene expression across ant species.
New research reveals that kin selection drives altruistic defense in enslaved Temnothorax longispinosus ant workers. The study found that slaves rebel against their oppressors' offspring, benefiting relatives living nearby.
A new study by University of Florida researchers found that victorious ant colonies recruit members of losing colonies to help defend their territory. After analyzing DNA from nearly 800 ants, the team discovered that fighting changes the genetic makeup of victorious colonies, allowing them to form lasting truces with former foes.
Researchers found that different parts of an organ grow at varying rates when the body changes size. This discovery could help understand how organs work and interact with each other to maintain animal health.
Researchers found that forager ants with less body fat died first from malnutrition when food was scarce. In contrast, stay-at-home workers could survive in the nest for up to 100 days without food, and even some foragers on a well-balanced thin soup diet survived for over 300 days.
A study of army ants led by Drexel University professor Sean O'Donnell found that certain species regained vision and developed larger brains after moving back to the surface. The ants' brains showed increased investment in visual processing, smell, and overall cognitive function compared to underground-dwelling relatives.
Researchers at UC Riverside have found a more environmentally friendly way to control the spread of Argentine ants by adding their pheromone to bait. The pheromone-infused gel bait reduced ant activity by 74%, compared to 42% with traditional baits, and is an inexpensive modification to existing products.
Researchers discovered well-preserved ancient ant species in Burmese amber, revealing evidence of social behavior dating back to the Cretaceous period. The findings suggest that ants were highly competitive and territorial, with some species exhibiting unusual characteristics such as mammoth jaws.
Scientists discovered advanced social behavior in 100-million-year-old amber, revealing that ants and termites had sophisticated caste systems tens of millions of years earlier than thought. The fossils preserved the presence of different castes, including queen ants and workers, as well as eusocial behaviors such as combat and foraging.
Researchers measured trap-jaw ant speed in high-speed cameras, finding species range from 19.5 to 41.5 strikes per second, with Odontomachus brunneus recording the fastest recorded speed. Understanding antennal boxing can inform our understanding of ant sociology and behavior.
Researchers found that enslaved Formica ant colonies were more genetically and chemically diverse than their free-living counterparts. This diversity is likely caused by seasonal raids to steal pupae from adjacent host colonies, leading to changes in how the ants recognize nest mates.
Researchers found that closely related ant species use distinct chemical signals to differentiate their queens from workers. The new findings suggest evolutionary links between solitary and social insect communication and raise questions about the practical uses of these chemicals.
Researchers found that dominant ant species in tropical rainforests consume the majority of food resources, making ecosystems vulnerable. The study also revealed that efficient species can dominate systems, increasing resource turnover but making them more vulnerable to decline.
Researchers at the University of Oregon documented leafcutter ants' prehensile skills, revealing how they divide tasks to process leaves and grow food supply. The study found that energy conservation and division of labor are crucial for the ants' survival and health.
Researchers found that queen bees emit a chemical pheromone that alters the DNA of their daughters, keeping them as sterile and industrious workers. This process involves DNA methylation, which suppresses queenly characteristics in workers.
A new study from Rockefeller University found no overall differences in DNA methylation between worker and queen ants, challenging the popular explanation for their social roles. The research suggests that methylation may contribute to stable expression of household genes, but further studies are needed to confirm this.
Researchers found that ants only fully respond to social cues when resting, suggesting intermittent monitoring to process information. This behavior may benefit the colony by moderating positive feedback effects and improving decentralized task allocation.
Researchers found that compounds blocking histone deacetylases activated genes making one ant worker behave like another without changing their instructions. This study may provide insights into mechanisms behind behavioral disorders.
A Penn-led team has discovered that caste-specific behaviors in ant colonies can be directly altered by changing the balance of epigenetic chemicals. The study found that compounds inhibiting histone acetylation increased foraging behavior in minors, while injecting these inhibitors into young major ants also boosted foraging activity.
Scientists used compounds to alter epigenetic marks in ant colonies, demonstrating lasting effects on behavior. Epigenetic modifications, such as histone acetylation, influenced caste-based systems and worker responsibilities.