Entomologists uncover Florida fire ant matriarchy
In most colonies, ants work in service of a single reproductive queen, but that's not always the way ant societies function.
In most colonies, ants work in service of a single reproductive queen, but that's not always the way ant societies function.
Plants & Animals
Apr 15, 2019
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Having ancestors who were frequently exposed to stressors can improve one's own immune response to stressors, according to Penn State researchers. The results suggest that family history should be considered to predict or ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 21, 2019
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Some lizards in the eastern U.S. have adapted to invasive fire ants—which can bite, sting, and kill lizards—reversing geographical trends in behavioral and physical traits used to avoid predators. A new study describing ...
Evolution
Nov 29, 2018
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Native to South America, imported red fire ants were introduced accidentally into the United States in the early 20th century. These ants subsequently invaded other countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, China, ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 12, 2018
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A North Carolina State University study shows that fire suppression efforts in Brazilian savannas turn many of those areas into forest lands, with negative consequences for the plants and animals that live there.
Environment
Aug 30, 2017
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Scientists from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have discovered that the chromosome responsible for the social organisation of colonies of the highly invasive fire ant is likely to have evolved via a single event rather ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 20, 2017
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425
Thanks to a bit of genetic sleuthing, researchers now know the invasion history of the tropical fire ant (Solenopsis geminata), the first ant species known to travel the globe by sea.
Plants & Animals
Feb 18, 2015
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207
Three years ago, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers took a close look at how fire ants work together to build waterproof rafts to stay alive. By looking at the edges and tops of rafts, the team discovered that ants ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 11, 2014
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What do Jell-O, toothpaste, and floating fire-ant rafts have in common? All are so-called "viscoelastic" materials, meaning that they can both resist flow under stress, like honey, and they can bounce back to their original ...
General Physics
Nov 26, 2013
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Invasive "crazy ants" are displacing fire ants in areas across the southeastern United States, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin. It's the latest in a history of ant invasions from the southern ...
Ecology
May 16, 2013
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