Ant biologists thought the small, strangely-shaped Manica parasitica from the Sierra Nevada was a social parasite of another ant species, but the truth is even stranger.

#Ants #Insects #Manica #Parasites

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0399

An Acromyrmex octospinosus leafcutter ant, photographed at the famous La Selva biological station in the lowland rainforests of Costa Rica.

#Ants #Acromyrmex #Insects #Spines

Job! An endowed professorship at Arizona State University in the systematics and taxonomy of ants. A rare opportunity for the right sort of ant nerd/desert rat.

#Ants #Academia #Entomology

https://apply.interfolio.com/135564

The enigmatic Acanthoponera minor, an ant that is occasionally seen patrolling the low vegatation of wet neotropical forests, about which little is known. I photographed this one in Ecuador.

#Ants #Insects #Acanthoponera

The life cycle of an ant (Camponotus festinatus) laid out in a single photograph: eggs, larvae of various ages, a silk-covered pupa, and an adult worker. At #UTAustin's Brackenridge Field Laboratory, in Texas.

#Ants #Metamorphosis #Insects #Camponotus #LifeCycles

A map of global ant diversity.

#Ants #Biodiversity

From: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abp9908

I find this weirdly fascinating. Some #ants and some #termites have created a demilitarised zone of sorts.

Workers are moving down lines and guards from each group are standing face to face.

#nature

A queen Texas leafcutter ant in the fungus garden.

#Atta #ants #QueenAnts #Insects

Quite specific, but a very interesting article about #ants and their early evolution. The authors propose a 3 step scenario based on fossils and their interpretation. Really fascinating !

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.20.480183v1

#insects #nature #ecology #fossil #paleontology #entomology