Over the next 30 million years or so, four other farming strategies arose as the ants and the fungi they cultivated evolved. Schultz and Brady identified potential transitional species between these ...

If an ant discovers mold in the fungus farm, they use a unique bacterium as a natural pesticide. However, these clever ants ...

“Ants have been practicing agriculture and fungus farming for much longer than humans have existed. “We could probably learn ...

Scientists probing one of the mysteries of the insect world identified a powerful chemical weapon used in the arms race between fungus-farming leafcutter ants and the parasites that plague them.

Birds do it. Bees do it. But until now, no one thought the fungus farming ant did it. Documenting genetic variations and the presence of sperm, however, researchers have found evidence that some ...

These ants aren’t eating the leaves they carry—they use plant matter to cultivate a special fungus in their underground chambers. It’s like farming, but instead of growing vegetables, they grow the ...

In this podcast, student journalist Taryn Pollock explains what the ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus is and why it is commonly called the Zombie ant-virus. Taryn Pollock is a student at South ...

This last exposure had the most intense and rapid response, with more ants involved in both cleaning themselves and the fungus they cultivate to eat. Atta sexdens is a leafcutter ant, a group that ...

Student journalist Taryn Pollock explains what the ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus is and why it is commonly called the Zombie ant-virus.