Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior

Sex, head size, and male mate location behavior affect allometric scaling of the eyes in Centris pallida (Hymenoptera: Apidae) bees

The paper examines how sex, body size, and mate location behavior influence eye structure and visual acuity in Centris pallida bees, finding sex and morphological differences in eye characteristics.

Convergent genetic rewiring of the brain underlies termite sociality

The paper identifies genetic changes in odorant receptors and other genes associated with termite sociality across multiple species.

Integrative taxonomy and distribution of Apis species in Malaysia

This study identifies Apis species in Malaysia using morphology and mitochondrial markers, finding reliable field identification in peninsular Malaysia but highlighting the need for molecular validation in Borneo.

Why Ambrosia Beetles Keep Only One Fungus: Competitive Asymmetry, Bottleneck Drift, and Eco-Evolutionary Fixation

The paper explains why ambrosia beetles maintain only one fungal symbiont by showing that competitive asymmetry, stochastic drift, and transmission bottlenecks lead to one-fungus specificity.

Multiple mating predicts queen reproductive output in the polygynous Neotropical trap-jaw ant, Odontomachus chelifer (Formicidae: Ponerinae)

This study investigates factors affecting queen reproductive output in O. chelifer ants, finding that multiple mating positively correlates with reproductive success.

Low temperature triggers sociality in a facultatively social bee

This study shows that low temperature induces social behavior in the facultatively social bee Exoneura robusta, revealing an environmental cue for sociality.

Ongoing coevolution between reintroduced Phengaris teleius butterflies and their Myrmica host ants

This study examines how reintroduced Phengaris teleius butterflies adapt to their host ants through chemical and vibroacoustical mimicry over 30 generations.

Forage preference in two geographically co-occurring fungus gardening ants: a dietary DNA approach

This study uses dietary DNA metabarcoding to analyze plant forage diversity in two co-occurring fungus gardening ant species, finding significant differences in plant beta and alpha diversity between species and paired colonies.

Enforced specificity of an animal symbiosis

This study investigates the sensory basis of symbiotic interactions between a rove beetle and its host ant, finding that specificity is enforced by physiological constraints and negative fitness interactions, not sensory tuning.

The loss of a supergene in obligately polygynous Formica wood ant species

The paper investigates the loss of a supergene haplotype in obligately polygynous Formica ants using comparative genomics and finds that the derived haplotype P is absent in two species except for duplicated paralogs of specific genes.

Spatial segregation and cross-kingdom interactions drive stingless bee hive microbiome assembly

The paper investigates the drivers of stingless bee microbiome assembly, revealing spatial segregation and cross-kingdom interactions that maintain the brood microbiome.

Wood ants on the edge: how do the characteristics of linear edges affect the population dynamics of an edge specialist?

The paper examines how ride orientation and width in managed forests affect the distribution and dispersal of northern hairy wood ants, showing cardinal-oriented rides support higher nest density and faster dispersal.

Unraveling Honey Bee's Waggle Dances in Natural Conditions with Video-Based Deep Learning

This paper introduces a deep learning pipeline to automatically detect and measure honey bee waggle dances in natural conditions, achieving high accuracy and generalizability across species.

Maintaining tandem movement cohesion through antennal movements in termites

This study investigates how blind termites use antennal movements to maintain stable pair movement during tandem runs.

Symbiotic solutions for colony nutrition: conserved nitrogen recycling within the bacterial pouch of Tetraponera ants

This study examines nitrogen recycling in Tetraponera ants via their bacterial pouch symbionts, showing that symbiont-assimilated nitrogen supports colony fitness and larval growth.

Architectural immunity: ants alter their nest networks to prevent epidemics

This study shows that ants modify their nest structure in response to pathogens, leading to changes that reduce disease spread.

The illusion of infinity: Acoustic black holes in wood deceive termites

This study shows termites prefer longer and lighter ABH-modified wooden dowels by assessing wood size through bite-induced echoes, similar to echolocation.

Social task and aggressiveness shape immunity gene expression levels in the head of highly eusocial bees

The paper examines how social tasks and aggressiveness influence immunity gene expression in the heads of stingless bees, finding upregulation in aggressive species.

A novel supergene controls queen size and colony social organization in the ant Myrmica ruginodis

The paper identifies a novel supergene in the ant Myrmica ruginodis linked to queen size and colony social organization through whole-genome sequencing of 95 queens.

Vertical transmission of fungus-growing ant microbiota is species-specific and constrained by queens

The paper investigates vertical transmission of bacteria in fungus-growing ants, finding mixed evidence for garden bacteria transmission but supporting maternal transmission of gut-associated symbionts.

Sociality and nesting strategy shape the bimodal diversity gradient in bees

This study investigates how sociality and nesting strategy influence the bimodal latitudinal diversity gradient in bees, finding that social and above-ground nesting traits are linked to narrow climatic niches and prevalence in tropical regions.

Better Safe Than Sorry: Leg Amputations as a Prophylactic Wound Care Behaviour in Carpenter Ants

This study shows that carpenter ants perform indiscriminate leg amputations on infected and sterile wounds, reducing mortality but not differentiating between injury states.

Investigating the molecular basis of cleptobiosis in eusocial stingless bees (Apidae: Hymenoptera)

The paper compares transcriptomes of cleptobiotic and non-robber stingless bees to identify molecular adaptations linked to their specialized raiding behavior.

Carrying oversized loads may create pheromone 'blind spots' in leafcutter ants.

This study shows that oversized loads in leafcutter ants reduce antennae tapping, impairing pheromone trail detection, and highlights a sensory limitation in foraging behavior.

Evidence for climate-mediated range expansion of hybrid wood ants

This study shows that hybrid wood ants outperform their parent species in warming climates and have expanded their range northward due to climate change.

Social wound care dynamics in an army ant society

This study shows that social wound care can evolve in large groups, driven by injury rates and lethality rather than group size, using army ants as a case study.

Epigenetic reprogramming by 5-aza-dC alters gene methylation and suppresses aggression in founding queens of the California harvester ant Pogonomyrmex californicus.

This study shows that DNA demethylation with 5-aza-dC reduces aggression in founding queens of P. californicus, suggesting an epigenetic role in social behavior.

Physical Interactions Drive Collective Thermoregulatory Behavior in Honey Bees

This study shows that physical contact is necessary for honey bees to coordinate thermoregulatory fanning behavior, and higher social density increases the likelihood of contact and fanning.

Caste-specific processing of construction pheromones in mound-building termites

This study investigates how termites use soil as a medium for communication through caste-specific responses to volatile and non-volatile pheromones.

Nocturnal Navigation via a Time-Compensated Lunar Compass in Bull Ants

This study demonstrates that nocturnal bull ants use a time-compensated lunar compass to navigate, adjusting their path headings based on predicted lunar azimuthal positions.