Insects, features and articles | Educational Science

Sep 26, 2012

Slave Ants Rebel Against Oppressors

Enslaved ants launch lethal rebellions against their oppressors, tearing apart the offspring of their masters, new research shows. Protomognathus americanus, an American species of slavemaker ant, raids the nests of a neighboring ant species (Temnothorax longispinosus), killing the adult ants and running off with the young. Back at the nests...

Feb 11, 2013

'Alien' Argentine Ants May Have Met Their Match

Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) are among the most aggressive invasive insects in the United States. But after pushing out native ant species in local ecosystems across the country, the little conquerers may have finally met their match. Researchers found evidence that another alien species, the Asian needle ant (Pachycondyla chinensis)...

May 17, 2013

'Crazy' Ants Driving Out Fire Ants in Southeast

Invasive fire ants have been a thorn in the sides of Southerners for years. But another invasive species, the so-called crazy ant — that many describe as being worse — has arrived and is displacing fire ants in several places. When you talk to folks who live in the invaded...

May 31, 2013

Ants Ring Woman's Doorbell Repeatedly

An elderly woman in Germany who heard her doorbell rung repeatedly late at night naturally called the cops. Although it seemed like the work of a prankster, officers uncovered a much smaller culprit: ants. Police in Offenburg responded when the 75-year-old woman made a desperate call at 3 a.m. on...

Jun 25, 2013

Why 'Crazy Ants' Swarm Inside Electronics

Exterminator Mike Matthews got the call because the home's air-conditioning unit had short-circuited. Why an exterminator for a problem with an appliance? Because of the crazy ants. Matthews has seen crazy ants disable scores of air-conditioning units near Austin, Texas, where the invasive creatures have been a real headache. The...

Jul 22, 2013

Seagulls Get 'Drunk' on Flying Ants

You won't like seagulls when they get a few ants in them. Seagulls in southwest England are getting drunk off of flying ants, brazenly stealing food out of residents' hands, flying directly into buildings and failing to get out of the way of cars, according to news reports. Apparently the...

Nov 4, 2013

5 New Species of 'Slavemaker' Ants Discovered

If you want to get the job done, get somebody else to do it. That seems to be the motto of slavemaker ants, which raid the nests of other ants and steal their young. The kidnapped ants then do most of the work excavating a nest, finding food, and caring...

Dec 20, 2013

Ants Stay Clean by Squirting Antimicrobials from Their Butts

Ants may not seem particularly germaphobic, since they live in bacteria-rich dirt and often eat decaying plants and animals. But some ants have evolved to be quite fastidious sanitizers, regularly bathing themselves in antimicrobial secretions emitted from glands in their rear ends. Now, research from scientists based at the University...

Dec 30, 2013

Meet the Enemy of Killer Fungus that Turns Ants into Zombies

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. One of most famous fungi in the world is the “zombie ant fungus”. It takes over the mind of an ant, causing it to climb up a branch and cling...

Feb 12, 2014

Experience Influences Ants' Choices, Study Finds

As ants search for the safest spot possible, do they prefer houses with a smaller entrance, or a darker interior? It all depends on what they were exposed to in the past, according to a new study. Ants may choose their rock crevice dens based on how safe they feel...

Feb 13, 2014

Gallery of Crazy Ants

Crazy ant invasion (Image credit: Photograph by Lawrence Gilbert)Tawny (or raspberry) crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) — named for their quick, erratic movements — invaded Texas and Florida in the early 2000s, and have been steamrolling fire ant populations in the South ever since. Crazy ants resist the sting of fire...

Feb 13, 2014

Crazy Ants! Secret Weapon Lets Invaders Take Over US South

All over the southern United States, miniature foes are engaging in fierce battle. Invasive crazy ants have been displacing fire ants, and a curious defensive strategy may be behind the crazy ants' bold takeover. Fire ants pack potent venom that kills most ants that come into contact with it. But...

Feb 14, 2014

Protein Shakes Make Tasty Treats For Bullet Ants

(ISNS) -- Watch a trail of ants march off bearing morsels of food, and you might think the insects are experts at gathering prey. But sometimes the makeup of a food can confound a particular species of supersized ants, new research shows. Bullet ants – giant tropical ants named for...

Feb 20, 2014

Ants Build Raft to Escape Flood, Protect Queen

Ants may be small, but they’re certainly not stupid, as evidenced by the discovery that they build rafts to save themselves and their queen during floods. What’s more, they construct the rafts using themselves — living ants — linked together to form a nearly waterproof buoyant vessel, according to a...

Feb 20, 2014

Ants Are Even Stronger Than You Imagine

(ISNS) – While the world watches Olympians skate, jump and fly through the air in Sochi, researchers have turned their eyes to a much tinier but equally impressive athlete: the humble field ant. New research published last month showed that the neck joint of a common field ant can withstand...