Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are a diverse group of long-chain lipids that form the outermost layer of an insect’s cuticle. They serve a dual function by providing a protective barrier against ...

Eusocial insects represent one of nature’s most sophisticated social systems, in which chemical communication forms the backbone of colony cohesion and regulation. Chemical signals, including ...

Scientists describe the behavior as "altruistic signalling," a form of social immunity in eusocial insects Getty A new research study finds infected ant pupae emit a chemical signal that prompts ...

Measuring the adaptiveness of social insect foraging strategies : an empirical approach / Nigel E. Raine and Lars Chittka -- Social cues and adaptive foraging strategies in ants / Claire Detrain and ...

Scientists have long known that the social insects in the order Hymenoptera–which includes ants, bees, and wasps–have an unusual mechanism for sex determination: Unfertilized eggs develop into males, ...

Spatial organization of foraging behavior in individually searching desert ants, Cataglyphis (Sahara Desert) and Ocymyrmex (Namib Desert) / R. Wehner -- Foraging characteristics of the desert ant ...

While smell plays a considerable role in the social interactions of humans -- for instance, signaling fear or generating closeness -- for ants, it is vitally important. Researchers have found that a ...

Ant colonies are well-defended fortresses. The social insects quickly sniff out most intruders and kill them to protect their young in the nest. But many other species—from beetles to butterflies and ...

Ants are social insects, Why, if they had fingers, they would probably have iPads. So it’s somehow appropriate that at least two researchers at the University of Arizona are raising money through ...

A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has shown in a new study that ants returning from habitats affected by air pollution are attacked when they re-enter the colony. The ...

Termites did not evolve complex societies by adding new genetic features. Instead, scientists found that they became more social by shedding genes tied to competition and independence. A shift to ...