In the dense forests of South America and Southeast Asia, a parasite operates with chilling precision. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, often called the zombie-ant fungus, infects ants, invades their ...

Ant (scientific name: Camponotus atriceps) infected with fungus (scientific name: Ophiocordyceps unilateralis sensu lato). The fungus forces the ant to climb off the forest floor and bite down on a ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. This microscopic, parasitic fungus evolved to hijack ants’ ...

Long before humans walked the Earth, while dinosaurs were still roaming the land, a parasitic fungus hijacked the mind of a young ant. Insidiously, the fungus orchestrated the ant’s demise. The ant ...

The mutualistic relationship between leaf-cutting ants and their fungal cultivars, primarily Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, constitutes one of nature’s most intricate examples of symbiosis. This ...

Certain ant species are famous for their ability to explode, a suicidal defense mechanism. Read here to learn how and when ...

Certain ants appear to alter their nest networks to prevent epidemics, offering inspiration for disease control interventions in the human world as well. Ants are many things. Like, they're very ...