#ants

#ants

Pogonomyrmex barbatus harvester ants have been observed making regular visits to the nests of much smaller ants, which groom these larger visitors. This behavior represents the first known example of mutualism between different ant species, showcasing the intricate social dynamics within ant communities.

Naked mole rat queens rule with an iron forepaw, forbidding any other female from reproducing until they die, leading to violent battles for dominance among the remaining females.

A study by researchers at the University of California Berkeley has found that ethanol is surprisingly common in floral nectar, the sugary fuel that keeps pollinators alive. Yeast feeding on those sugars produces trace amounts of alcohol, and in this study, it showed up in 26 of the 29 plant species sampled.

The fireflies were most likely to change their own flashing rhythm in response when the LED blinked almost, but not quite, at the same time as the fireflies. The males would speed up their next flash if the LED blinked just before and waited a bit longer for their next flash when the LED blinked right after.

These caterpillars use a surprisingly complex rhythm like a secret knock to convince the ants to come fetch them. That's according to research published on February 25 in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, which found that caterpillars can keep a beat called double meter that has so far been identified only in a couple of primates.