Colonies of ants are incredibly complex, and at the same time intensely cooperative, so much so that they are often referred to as single 'superorganisms'. But to what extent do they actually behave as a single entity?
Plants & Animals
Nov 11, 2015
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Picture an anthill. What do you see? A small mound of sand and crumbly dirt poking up through the lawn? A tiny hole disappearing into the ground? A few ants scrambling around busily. Not very impressive, right?
Plants & Animals
Aug 23, 2021
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(Phys.org)—A pair of researchers with Singapore Botanic Gardens and the National University of Singapore has found and studied a nest of Tyrannomyrmex rex, a first for the rare species of ant. In their paper published in ...
"Add 'skull-collecting ant' to the list of strange creatures in Florida," says Adrian Smith a scientist at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University. His new research describes the ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 16, 2018
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688
A team of physicists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has found that when ants of a certain species collectively carry a large object, they do so in a way that mimics a self-propelled particle as it moves through ...
(Phys.org)—A pair of researchers with Ulm University has found that a type of African desert ant has two navigational systems for helping it find its way back to the nest. In their paper published in the journal Science, ...
All spiders are predators, but most of them are small and have rudimentary defences against larger animals that in turn prey on them. Spiders have thus evolved a range of predatory behaviours that, at the same time, allow ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 14, 2014
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2
Desert ants are well-known for their remarkable orientation: they use a compass along with a step counter and visible landmarks to locate their nest. After researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology discovered ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 9, 2010
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Scientists have uncovered the fossil of a 52-million-year old beetle that likely was able to live alongside ants—preying on their eggs and usurping resources—within the comfort of their nest. The fossil, encased in a ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 2, 2014
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0
A trio of environmental specialists at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, in Japan, has found that Japanese honeybees sometimes resort to slapping ants with their wings to prevent their entry into their nest.
