Genetic diversity is essential to the survival of a species. It's easy enough to maintain if a species reproduces sexually; an egg and a sperm combine genetic material from two creatures into one, ...

Yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) are, to put it simply, one of the more well known aggressive 'jerks' of the ant world. And that's saying a lot for any of the countless number of invasive ...

Every clonal raider ant lives a nearly identical life. Each new generation of these blind, queenless ants is born at the same time, eats the same things, lives in the same environment, and—as an ...

Worker ants, despite their diligence, seldom encounter opportunities for social mobility. In many species, individuals adhere to strict caste roles: queens lay eggs and workers take care of almost ...

AUSTIN, Texas--Fungus-farming ants around the world cultivate essentially the same fungus and are not as critical to the reproduction of the fungi as previously believed, biologists at The University ...

A new genetics study of ant “social parasites” shows how complex sets of features can emerge rapidly and potentially split species. When the researcher Daniel Kronauer was still a postdoc in 2008, he ...

The researchers think the pattern they observed in ants reflects a more universal trend in the evolution of societal ...

New research on ants has shown a first in insects: the ability to shrink and then regrow their brains in a big way. It relates to how these particular ants, called Harpegnathos saltator, or the Indian ...

Research shows that some ants have learned how to treat their wounds, revealing one of the clearest examples of medical ...

A new study in ants identifies a peptide that plays an important role in regulating reproduction. This research illuminates a potential trajectory for the evolution of distinct social castes -- ...