An ant that disappears into the forest floor, a bird that demands attention from mates—for these animals, an inky black ...

which includes more than 150,000 species of ants, wasps, sawflies and bees. Along with some butterflies, it is one of the only ultra-black insects. Though this trait is rare, the advantages for ...

Ultrablack is a rare pigment that reflects ... or even to highlight other colors in species that need to impress their mates. In the velvet ants, the coloration is thought to “ward off predators ...

The study of ant taxonomy in the Arabian Peninsula has seen significant advancements in recent years, particularly with the discovery and description of new species. Research efforts have focused ...

After munching on wild thyme flowers for a few days, it drops to the ground and persuades a particular species of red ant to carry it into a nest. It stays underground for months, impersonating an ...

This rare structural color is part of the assortment ... It is possible — indeed, likely — that there are other species of velvet ants with ultrablack coloration. “Our preliminary findings ...

The species of ant crickets from the Myrmecophilus genus ... Distancing incidents were comparatively rare.” The team also looked at cricket behavior after they were integrated into the host ...

the insects sometimes proved to be the smarter species. That’s not to denigrate human intelligence — ants are smart, and their feats of coordinated activity are rare in nature. Still, it is fair to ...