Fungi can be incredibly adapted to their niche in life. Cordyceps doesn't just kill and consume it's host, but modifies the ant's behaviour to the Cordycep's advantage.

Footage from Planet Earth picked by pocksucket 2 years ago

The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

Gulp. picked by glik 2 years ago

Miniscule magnets found in ant antennae could help to explain why these insects seem to always know where they are going, according to researchers who suspect the magnets are a key component of a sophisticated, nature-made GPS system. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago

The carpenter ant in the picture on the right (genus Campanotus), and the bullet ant in the first film clip below (Paraponera clavata), have fallen victim to parasitic fungi of the genus Cordyceps, which manipulate the behaviour of their host in order to increase their own chances of reproducing. picked by bingo 1 year ago

It wasn't until 2004 that the gliding skills of Cephalotes atratus, a species of ant, was first recorded by scientists. Not only can it glide like your average glidy superhero, surely an oxymoron in there somewhere, it is as close as the insect world gets to resembling Darth Vader. The combination of the two makes this some ant.*

*with apologies to EB White picked by bingo 8 months ago

The bladder-chewing guppy not enough for you? Can’t stop thinking about exploding ants, boyfriend-devouring she-monsters of the sea and blood-spurting lizards? Don’t worry - terrifying oneself is a common ailment of the intertubes. picked by Bornbad 12 months ago

Every night, the Brazilian ant Forelius pusillus takes self-sacrifice to a whole new level. At sunset, the colony protects its nest by sealing off the entrances with sand, and a few ants remain outside to complete the job. Unable to reenter, they die by the next morning--making them the first known example of a suicidal defense that is preemptive rather than a response to immediate danger. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

It's the crazy Rasberry ant that was first spotted in Houston in 2002. No one knows where it came from or how to control it, but it reproduces faster than any insect experts have ever seen. picked by bornbad 6 months ago

Job 12:7a But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; A bit much for me...but read this weirdo's stuff and yee shall be free of bugs. picked by Bornbad 3 years ago

A fascinating tale of slave rebellion among ants kidnapped by other ant species and forced to work for the rival colony: picked by Bornbad 8 months ago

Ants in particular share Homo sapiens‘ inclination towards mutual annihilation by a process startlingly similar to our own foreign invasions and wars, they may also choose to subject their invertebrate victims to a fate that some might consider ‘worse than death’. This system is also one which is not unknown within the human world: slavery. picked by Bornbad 4 months ago

What you thought was a berry, may in fact be an infested ant's ass. picked by MandolinOrange 2 years ago

Some sort of ant game. Bring snacks. picked by Bornbad 3 years ago

Aerial photographs, where people look like ants and cities like toy models. Photographer shoots from a helicopter using a tilt-shift lens. picked by Lilo 2 years ago

Have you ever been stung by a bee? Want to know how much you have suffered on a scale of one to four? Then take a look at the Schmidt Sting Pain Index which rates the relative pain caused by the sting of hymenoptera. That would be sawflies, wasps, bees and ants to most of us. picked by AutumnLotus 6 months ago