A few months ago, I awoke to find a streak spanning the length of my kitchen wall that looked like it had been drawn there ...

Leafcutter ants of the American tropics exemplify animals that exhibit superorganism status, advanced social organization and symbiosis. As you walk through the jungle you become aware of these ...

As individuals, driver ants are small and relatively insignificant creatures. But as a colony, they transform into a huge and ...

The emergent complexity of ant societies is one of the most fascinating phenomena in the natural world: how do these tiny creatures form such intricate social networks? These networks are so nuanced ...

Young, infected Lasius neglectus ants will send out an altruistic "kill me" signal to worker ants, a new study finds, as part of a strategy to keep deadly pathogens from spreading through the colony.

Like a brain, an ant colony operates without central control. Each is a set of interacting individuals, either neurons or ants, using simple chemical interactions that in the aggregate generate their ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. The Argentine ant is one of the most invasive species of ...

In colonies of certain social insects, such as ants, individuals are specialized for particular jobs. For instance, different ants can be responsible for foraging, brood care, nest maintenance, waste ...

Think of it as mathematics with a bite: Researchers at CU Boulder have uncovered the statistical rules that govern how gigantic colonies of fire ants form bridges, ladders and floating rafts. In the ...

Deep inside an ant nest, some of the youngest members are primed to die for the group. When infection strikes, these baby ants do not just fall sick and fade away. They actively trigger their own ...

Biologist E.O. Wilson once wrote that "ants are the most warlike of all animals," noting that clashes between ant colonies dwarfed the human battles at Waterloo and Gettysburg. But sometimes ant ...