Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama discovered that carrying oversized loads limits the ability to perceive the trail in leafcutter ants, akin to blind spots ...

Leafcutter ants live in highly organized colonies where every ant has a job, and now researchers can flip those jobs like a switch. By manipulating just two neuropeptides, scientists can turn ...

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 ...

The American Museum of Natural History is unveiling an enormous new exhibit of leafcutter ants. Making it happen was no picnic. A leafcutter ant carrying a flower petal inside a new exhibit in the ...

Like any relationship, the key to a successful leaf-cutter ant colony is communication. The colony that "talks" to each other can conquer forces much larger than themselves. For example, army ant ...

In January, the American Museum of Natural History’s new insectarium gained 500,000 tenants. It has taken them some time to find their footing. By Emily Anthes It was a cold, gray afternoon in ...

The Butterfly Pavilion welcomed a new species of critter this month, and it’s already making itself at home. The new leafcutter ant exhibit showcases the lives of these invertebrates, who are known ...

Some ants within the colony patrol the neighborhood to protect the nest from intruders, while others stay inside to care for the young. Various molecular mechanisms, from hormone and neuropeptide ...

We have all been in that situation: The moving boxes are large and heavy, but we are determined to carry them all in one trip, even if that means we can't see where we're going. In the tropics, some ...