A recent study from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) reveals that, despite their outsized ecological impact ...

http://www.stri.org/bocas This videoclip shows leaf-cutting ants that were filmed during the Tropical Field Phycology Workshop held at the Smithsonian Tropical ...

We have all been in that situation: the moving boxes are large and heavy, but we are determined to carry them all in one trip, even if that means we can’t see where we’re going. In the tropics, some ...

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Dec. 9, 2010) -- When their razor-sharp mandibles wear out, leaf-cutter ants change jobs, remaining productive while letting their more efficient sisters take over cutting, say ...

Leaf-cutter ant nests are biogeochemical hot spots where ants live and import vegetation to grow fungus. Metabolic activity and (in wet tropical forests) soil gas flux to the nest may result in high ...

Leaf‐cutting ants are notable for their dual role as both potent herbivores and ecosystem engineers, shaping forest ecosystems through direct defoliation and indirect modifications of the physical ...

This story was originally broadcast on "Sunday Morning" on July 24, 2011. When most people think about ants – if they think about them at all – they think of pests in the pantry or on a picnic. But in ...