Happy Halloween! 🎃 🐜 See these ants at work in the Solomon Family Insectarium in the Museum’s Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation.
Across the world and for millions of years, army ant colonies have been infiltrated by impostors—beetles that pass for ants and make their living as parasites. Army ants are named for their aggressive hunting behavior, and they’re also fierce defenders of their colonies. But this hasn’t stopped several beetle species from the family Staphylidae which have evolved to infiltrate roaming army ant colonies and live in them as parasites. A new study published in the journal Current Biology finds this capacity evolved not just once, but at least a dozen times in beetle species that are only distantly related. Read more about this new research on the blog.
Fire ants are a notorious invasive species and are frequently seen as pests, but A. propitia butterflies actively seek them out when choosing a location for egg-laying. The ants attend the larvae, transporting them to shelter during the day and carrying them out again at night to feed on the host plant. The ants appear to benefit from the larvae’s “ant-organs,” which dispense a nectar that produces a stimulating effect.
Museum scientists have uncovered the fossil of a 52-million-year old beetle that likely was able to live alongside ants—preying on their eggs and usurping resources from the comfort of their nest.
The Eocene fossil, named Protoclaviger trichodens, was encased in a piece of amber from India and is the oldest-known example of this kind of social parasitism, or “myrmecophily.” Published today in the journal Current Biology, the research also shows that the diversification of these stealth beetles, which infiltrate ant nests around the world, correlates with the ecological rise of modern ants.
Recently, a fourth-year student at the Museum’s Richard Gilder Graduate School, Phillip Barden, and Curator and Professor David Grimaldi, his graduate advisor, discerned nine “new” species of extinct ants preserved in Burmese amber (which, by the way, is fossilized tree resin).
Two of these species exhibit tusk-like mandibles, and appear to have been quite ferocious, possibly impaling prey with their uniquely expanded mouthparts.
Read more on the Museum's blog about how CT scans and light microscopy in the Museum’s imaging laboratory are uncovering information about these species.
Invasive fire ants are firmly established in the southeastern United States, defending their territory with venomous stings. But a new invasive species, the tawny crazy ant, appears impervious to fire ants' toxic attacks. A recent study pinpoints the crazy ants' defensive strategy, which is furthering their domination over not just fire ants, but other insects.