Bacterial Symbionts of Farming Ants

Fig. 1 The ant-microbe farming community. (Courtesy of Cameron Currie, University of Wisconsin-Madison; adapted from an earlier version by Elsa Youngsteadt)

Originally written for the 2011 McGraw Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology, republished with permission. Leaf-cutting (attine) ants have an ancient mutualistic relationship with basidiomycete fungi, which they cultivate for food and defend from parasites with bacterially generated antibiotics (Fig. 1). The bacteria involved in these multipartite relationships are an ancient group called actinobacteria, notably [...]

Giant Ant Fossils in Wyoming

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According to Susan Milius of Science News, “giant” ant fossils have been found in Wyoming. How big are the fossils? Well, if you’re worried about bugs the size of a Volkswagon, worry no more. They were only about the size of a hummingbird.       Check out this video of an ant in amber, [...]

The Evolution of Tree Frogs Gives Rainforest Clues

acid attack hoax may have used sulfuric acid

The vast numbers of treefrog species in some rainforest regions have something to teach us, according to Associate Professor John Wiens of Stony Brook University in New York. In this study, published in Ecology Letters, researchers discovered that the high degree of biodiversity present in some areas of the rainforest is the result of over [...]