Two winged clonal raider ants stand out against a white background. About a decade ago, scientists observing clonal raider ants spotted something strange: Although the species is known to be queenless ...

“Our discovery reveals a parasite that is more sophisticated than we originally believed it to be.” Studying hundreds of infected ants in the Bidstrup Forests, in Denmark, scientists painstakingly ...

A team of German scientists has discovered the possible mechanism of how a parasitic tapeworm can allow a certain species of ants to live substantially longer when infected. In addition, the ants are ...

Around the world, a parasitic fungus transforms ants into "zombies." The fungus is like something out of a horror movie: The organism hijacks the body and brain of its ant host, mind-controlling it ...

Imagine coming-to, jaws gripping the top of a swaying blade of grass, unaware of how you got there. That's the reality for ants infected with the lancet liver fluke, a tiny parasitic flatworm. Liver ...

To thrive, ant colonies rely on everyone pulling their weight. For raider ants, this means diligent scouts track down other nests, then direct hundreds of savage foragers to attack. They return with ...

Parasitic worms that zombify ants to do their bidding might be even more clever than we knew. Recent research has found that these parasites can not only compel ants to climb up blades of grass but ...

The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus has just one goal: self-propagation and dispersal. To do so, the parasitic fungus hijacks ants ’ bodies, essentially turning them into zombies.

The findings offer a new way to understand how some ants become total layabouts. Ants are known as hard workers, tirelessly attending to their assigned tasks -- foraging for food, nurturing larvae, ...

Ants infected with a tapeworm live several times longer than usual. Exactly how the parasite extends the life of its host is unclear, but a cocktail of proteins it releases may provide some clues. The ...