1,648 results
1,648 results for: Ants
- Animals
Velvet ants have the Swiss Army knife of venoms
A velvet ant bite like “hot oil from the deep fryer” delivers an array of peptides that inflicts pain on insects and mammals alike.
- Animals
Ants changed the architecture of their nests when exposed to a pathogen
Black garden ants made tweaks to entrances, tunnels and chambers that may help prevent diseases from spreading.
- Animals
This caterpillar wears the body parts of insect prey
Dubbed the “bone collector,” this caterpillar found on a Hawaiian island disguises itself while stalking spider webs for trapped insects to eat.
- Animals
Bird nests made with a toxic fungus seem to fend off attacking ants
Two species of birds in Costa Rica build nests in trees defended by ants. Ants that encounter the horsehair fungus in the nests develop odd behaviors.
- Animals
A fungus named after Sir David Attenborough zombifies cave spiders
The new fungus species Gibellula attenboroughii forces reclusive cave spiders to exposed areas, likely to benefit spore dispersal.
- Paleontology
Early ants may have had complex social lives, fossil data suggests
The earliest ants may have been primed for a highly social life — 100 million years ago, the insects had antennae tuned to key communication functions.
- Oceans
Seafloor amber may hold hints of a tsunami 115 million years ago
Oddly shaped deposits of tree resin point to massive waves that struck northern Japan roughly 115 million years ago and swept a forest into the sea.
- Animals
This tool-wielding assassin turns its prey’s defenses into a trap
This assassin bug's ability to use a tool — bees’ resin — could shed light on how the ability evolved in other animals.
- Life
This biophysicist’s work could one day let doctors control immune cells
The Stanford biophysicist thinks that understanding the mechanics of cell movement could allow scientists to manipulate immune cells.
- Neuroscience
Here’s how magnetic fields shape desert ants’ brains
Exposure to a tweaked magnetic field scrambled desert ants’ efforts to learn where home is — and affected neuron connections in a key part of the brain.
- Animals
The first known scorpion to live with ants carries mini hitchhikers
Small arachnids hitch a ride on the scorpion, possibly to get inside food-rich ant nests.
- Ecosystems
How an invasive ant changed a lion’s dinner menu
An invasive ant is killing off ants that defend trees from elephants. With less cover, it’s harder for lions to hunt zebras, so they hunt buffalo instead.
