Cosma / Communication / Knowledge / Realm / Terrestrial / Life / Animal / Invertebrate / Ant
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Introduction1
Inside the ant colony (Deborah M. Gordon, TED-Ed)
TED-Ed (YouTube Channel)
Dictionary
ant : any of a family (formicidae) of colonial hymenopterous insects with a complex social organization and various castes performing special duties — Merriam-Webster See also OneLook
Encyclopedia
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago, and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. — Wikipedia
Hymenoptera: Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Bug Guide, Iowa State University)
Hymenoptera: Ants, Bees & Wasps (One Zoom)
Hymenoptera (Catalogue of Life)
Hymenoptera (WolframAlpha)
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Inspiration
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Inspiration
Leafcutter Ant Colony (Museum of Science, YouTube 360° Video)
Talks about Ants (TED: Ideas Worth Spreading)
Articles about Ants (Big Think)
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Innovation
Science
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term “insect” was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. This wider meaning may still be encountered in informal use. — Wikipedia
Entomology (Encyclopædia Britannica)
Myrmecology is a branch of entomology focusing on the scientific study of ants. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the ideal form of society and sought to find solutions to human problems by studying them. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social systems because of their complex and varied forms of eusociality (social organization). Their diversity and prominence in ecosystems also has made them important components in the study of biodiversity and conservation. Recently, ant colonies are also studied and modeled for their relevance in machine learning, complex interactive networks, stochasticity of encounter and interaction networks, parallel computing, and other computing fields. — Wikipedia
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Preservation
Library
DDC: 595.796 Ants (Library Thing)
Subject: Ants (Library Thing)
LCC: QL 568.F7 Ants (UPenn Online Books)
Subject: Ants (UPenn Online Books)
LCC: QL 568.F7 Ants (Library of Congress)
Subject: Ants (Library of Congress)
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Participation
Education
MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources
Community
Occupation
Careers in Entomology (Royal Entomological Society)
What is an Entomologist? (Environmental Science.org)
Entomologist (Future Farmers of America)
Organization
International Society of Hymenopterists
Royal Entomological Society
Entomological Society of America
American Entomological Society
News
Journal of Hymenoptera Research (International Society of Hymenopterists)
Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Journal of Insect Science (Entomological Society of America)
Ants (EurekaAlert, American Association for the Advancement of Science)
Ants (bioRxiv: Preprint Server for Biology, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
Ants (Science Daily)
Ants (JSTOR)
Ants (Science News)
Ants (Phys.org)
Ants (NPR Archives)
More News…
Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.
- Taking the sting out of fire ants with genomicson September 9, 2026 at 4:20 pm
Fire ants have earned their reputation as one of Australia's most damaging invasive pests. From ruined picnics to serious impacts on agriculture, biodiversity and public health, they are notoriously difficult to control.
- Why should we care if there aren't any squished...on September 8, 2026 at 5:40 pm
This summer, you may have wondered why you are seeing so few insects squished on your car's windshield compared with a road trip several years ago.
- Arthropods inspire interdisciplinary solutions to...on September 8, 2026 at 5:00 pm
Arthropods are small, but they could play an outsized role in tackling some of the world's biggest challenges.
- In ant nervous systems, gene expression may drive...on September 4, 2026 at 9:40 pm
Why do some ants help nestmates in distress while others don't? A research team from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Tel Aviv University addressed this question in a new study. The researchers examined worker ants of the species Cataglyphis niger, some of which had shown rescue behavior while others had not. The results, recently published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, suggest that the key difference lies not in body size, morphology or the animals' energy reserves, but […]
- Tiny fossils reveal big insights about ant...on September 3, 2026 at 11:20 pm
Two tiny ant fossils recovered in southern Saskatchewan are helping scientists better understand the evolutionary history of modern ants. Ant fossils dating from 72–56 million years ago are rare. What happened to insects such as ants during this period that saw a mass extinction wipe out all non-bird dinosaurs? How did that event reshape their world?
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Related
Here are links to pages about closely related subjects.
Sphere Land, Ice, Water (Ocean), Air, Life (Cell, Gene)
Ecosystem Forest, Grassland, Desert, Arctic, Aquatic
Tree of Life
Microorganism Virus
Prokaryote Archaea, Bacteria
Eukaryote Protist, Fungi, Algae, Protozoa (Tardigrade)
Plant Flower, Tree
Animal
Invertebrate
Cnidaria Coral, Jellyfish
Cephalopod Cuttlefish, Octopus
Crustacean Lobster, Shrimp
Arachnid Spider, Scorpion
Insect Ant, Bee, Beetle, Butterfly
Vertebrate
Fish Seahorse, Ray, Shark
Amphibian Frog, Salamander
Reptile Turtle, Tortoise, Dinosaur
Bird Penguin, Ostrich, Owl, Crow, Parrot
Mammal Platypus, Bat, Mouse, Rabbit, Goat, Giraffe, Camel, Horse, Elephant, Mammoth
Walrus, Seal, Polar Bear, Bear, Panda, Cat, Tiger, Lion, Dog, Wolf
Cetacean Whale, Dolphin
Primate Monkey, Chimpanzee, Human
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Notes
1. The resources on this page are are organized by a classification scheme developed exclusively for Cosma.





