A common type of ant in Europe breaks a fundamental rule in biology: its queens can produce male offspring that are a whole different species. These queen Iberian harvester ants (Messor ibericus) are ...

Researchers have uncovered an unusual survival strategy in Iberian harvester ants that turns basic biology on its head: The queens can produce eggs that develop into two different ant species. A team ...

Worker ants perform important tasks like gathering food, taking care of eggs and larvae and nest building. However, some species of ants cannot produce workers through reproductive means with their ...

Iberian harvester ant queens exhibit xenoparous reproduction, a unique phenomenon where they produce hybrid worker ants by utilizing sperm from another species, Messor structor. This allows the queens ...

In Kenya, two Belgian teenagers and two others face charges for smuggling thousands of ants, highlighting a disturbing shift in wildlife trafficking. Authorities discovered the Messor Cephalotes ...

Ants are known for their hierarchical societies and well-codified reproduction. However, a recent discovery shows that a European species completely upends these established rules. (a) M. ibericus ...