Ants follow Fermat's principle of least time

(Phys.org) —Ants have long been known to choose the shortest of several routes to a food source, but what happens when the shortest route is not the fastest? This situation can occur, for example, when ants are forced to ...

Crazy ants dominate fire ants by neutralizing their venom

Invasive "crazy ants" are rapidly displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern U.S. by secreting a compound that neutralizes fire ant venom, according to a University of Texas at Austin study published this week ...

Team identifies new 'social' chromosome in the red fire ant

Researchers have discovered a social chromosome in the highly invasive fire ant that helps to explain why some colonies allow for more than one queen ant, and could offer new solutions for dealing with this pest.

Fire ants assemble as a 'super-organism' (w/ video)

The ants may go marching one by one, but they end up forming a superstructure of thousands -- and together they can form a raft that stretches the boundaries of the laws of physics, according to new research released today. ...

Active matter theory explains fire-ant group behavior

Ants are social insects and the Solenopsis invicta species—known as the fire ant—is no exception. The social interactions of this invasive insect, which comes from South America, are framed within the context of the theory ...

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