see www.monitant.de

Formica polyctena, probably hundreds of queens in a mound

Sampling huge red wood ant mounds in the Belgian Ardennes

@monitant.bsky.social

Insects usually care for their own young, but sometimes they also help other species. This #RSOS study found that yellow meadow #ants protect the eggs of root aphids in their nests during winter. Read more: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... @tparmentier.bsky.social @wybouw.bsky.social

Ants meet woodlice, discover the hidden world of their interactions in our new review.

We explore the full spectrum of ant-woodlice relationships: from predation, to facilitation, and eventually to facultative and obligate ant association.

doi.org/10.1016/j.ej...

@ulbrecherche.bsky.social

eggs are piled and nursed by the workers, note the green Anoecia nymph that hatched from an egg,

more videos via doi.org/10.6084/m9.f...

New paper with @wybouw.bsky.social on the protection of aphid eggs in ant nests:
doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

*black eggs --> Anoecia zirnitsi, host: Lasius flavus
*eggs rapidly retrieved among ant brood and protected against predators and fungi
*mediated by chemical cues, transferred to glass dummies

Red wood ants can be mite magnets ...

🌲Exciting Summer internship in Warsaw for Students! 🐜
Dive into the fascinating world of forest ant ecology while completing your university internship! Don't miss this unique opportunity to gain valuable field experience and expand your knowledge. Check the details below 👇🏼

Formica sanguinea interacting with Dinarda dentata, a game of evasion, stealth and perfumes

Special Issue 🦋

A glimpse into a little-known world: Organisms associated with social arthropods

Deadline for submission: 31 March 2026

link.springer.com/journal/40/u...

here the different stages of the brood predatory larvae of Clytra quadripunctata

The first imago of the ant bag beetle Clytra quadripunctata this year, note the empty cases of the larvae that pupate in the nest of the previous years

Happy to see that a small article Elia Nalini (from @euracalpenv.bsky.social ) and I wrote for the myrmecological news blog is now finally published! 🐜 We present our @monitant.bsky.social project and also our Citizen Science approach. 🔎

blog.myrmecologicalnews.org/2025/04/09/m...

We are looking for a PostDoc with background in (insect) genomics for our Insect Symbiosis Lab in České Budějovice! See bucek-lab.org/join_us/ for more info.

cool photos! ps: bristletail is another order, it is a silverfish, Lepismatidae: possibly Afrolepisma or Xenolepisma

A histerid beetle during takeoff. We found this specimen in an army ant refuse deposit in Costa Rica, but we never figured out what species it is.

The blind white isopod Platyarthrus hoffmannseggii thrives in #ant nests, abundant in temperate Europe and introduced in USA.
Much more to discover about this #myrmecophile ...

Some years ago, we reported surprisingly differences in body size across host species doi.org/10.1093/biol...

#waspday at @NHM London!! look this amazing Polybia nest!!! thanks @gavinbroad.bsky.social with @waspwoman.bsky.social @femi-benny.bsky.social @ionace.bsky.social

As a first post, we can now announce that we have started our already successful Citizen Science project on INaturalist.

👉http://bit.ly/4i7Uh7w

Once joined, every observation can be assigned to this project (even retrospectively). So please share this and map out some ant mounds. 🐜🌳

Red wood ants (Formica polyctena) retrieving a caterpillar prey

Giant Stomaphis aphids with exceptionally long rostra are usually hidden in crevices, but last month they were out in the open, massively tended by Lasius fuliginosus ants on a maple stem #Entomology #Aphids #Ants #Symbionts