Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae within the order Hymenoptera, which also includes bees and wasps. They are characterized by a distinct petiole forming a narrow waist between the mesosoma and gaster, elbowed antennae, and caste differentiation into reproductive queens and males and typically wingless sterile workers. Ants exhibit complex colony organization with division of labor, cooperative brood care, and sophisticated chemical communication via pheromones. Their ecological roles include soil modification, seed dispersal, predation, mutualisms (e.g., with aphids and plants), and scavenging, making them key model organisms in studies of social evolution, chemical ecology, and community dynamics.
On a blazing hot day in South Africa, female southern pied babblers can't think straight. The medium-sized black-and-white birds are trying to get at tasty mealworms behind a see-through barrier. On cooler days, the birds ...
Ecology
Jun 8, 2026
0
13
A new study by plant biologists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, challenges a longstanding idea that stems from the large number of flowers in the mountains of Central and South America that have evolved to be ...
Evolution
Jun 4, 2026
0
46
In a new study, bumble bees solve a completely novel object-manipulation task. What makes this behavior especially remarkable is that the bees had never been trained. The findings challenge the long-standing assumption that ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 4, 2026
1
184
America's bees and beekeepers are losing a valuable ally just when they need its help most. The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to soon close the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, a 6,500-acre agricultural research ...
Ecology
May 26, 2026
1
18
There is not yet much research on the effects of heat waves on bees. What little there is focuses on super extremes of weather that would kill an adult bee.
Ecology
May 26, 2026
0
11
Honeybees are among the widely studied insects, due to their sophisticated, hierarchical social organization and their essential ecological role. Bees can move swiftly in natural environments, passing through narrow openings ...
What renders a city garden attractive to insects such as solitary bees, bumblebees and hoverflies? And how well do they pollinate plants in urban areas? A study by the Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
0
10
New research published in NeoBiota has found that the Western honey bee—an introduced species to Australia—and the devastating, invasive plant fungus known as myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) may have formed a mutually ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
0
151
In a lot behind a disused West Virginia gas station at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains, Roy Funkhouser is surrounded by about a dozen beekeepers and countless buzzing bees.
Ecology
May 19, 2026
1
73
Every bumble bee colony has a queen, but a new study led by researchers at Penn State suggests the process of determining which baby bee reigns supreme may be less monarchal than the royal title suggests. The study, published ...
Ecology
May 18, 2026
0
22
