The next time you’re outside, look down. Odds are, you might spot one of Earth’s estimated 20 quadrillion ants scurrying around. Depending on where you are, you may detect an Argentine ant. It might ...

Drop a clump of 100,000 fire ants in a pond of water – or flood a huge area of Texas that’s infested with fire ants and drive them out of their nests in large groups. In minutes the clump will flatten ...

Noah rode out his flood in an ark. Winnie-the-Pooh had an upside-down umbrella. Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta), meanwhile, form floating rafts made up of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of ...

Fire ants might be the scourge of southern states like Georgia and Texas, but scientifically, they are endlessly fascinating as an example of collective behavior. A few fire ants spaced well apart ...

Fire ants can form impressive rafts made up of hundreds of ants. However, rather than this being the result of collective social behaviour as was previously thought, experiments suggest the insects ...

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How and why do the ants make these symmetrical but very different shapes? They depend on touch and smell – not sight – to perceive the world, so they can sense only what’s very close to them. Contrary ...