{"id":12155,"date":"2025-01-16T18:37:50","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T18:37:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/16\/ants-are-more-complicated-than-people-think\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T20:24:16","slug":"ants-are-more-complicated-than-people-think","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/16\/ants-are-more-complicated-than-people-think\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Ants are more complicated than people think\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Clark biologists find mystery and majesty in a common insect<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An EPIC event<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Clark and the surrounding community celebrate the opening of the 1,725-square-foot Experimental Plant Investigation Center (EPIC), critical to research being conducted by biology professors Kaitlyn Mathis and Chandra Jack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Launch party<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chandra Jack\u2019s research<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
To Clark Biology Professor Kaitlyn Mathis, ants are not only pests that sting or swarm your picnic \u2014 they also are industrious creatures that can benefit farmers and signal a healthy environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnts are more complicated than people think,\u201d says Mathis, who has studied the behaviors of social insects for almost two decades. \u201cI love how ants are this incredibly simple organism, but they can come together cooperatively in groups and do really complex things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ants are farmers \u2014 some turn grass and leaves into fungi, which they store to eat later. Others \u201cherd aphids like cattle,\u201d she says. Honeypot ants\u2019 workers collect liquid in their abdomens to feed the rest of the colony, including the queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ants are warriors and builders. \u201cThey wage these complicated wars between themselves and other competitors,\u201d Mathis says. \u201cAnd they build really elaborate nest structures, all different kinds \u2014 in the ground, within hollowed-out acorns, or high up in the tree canopy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And ants are chemical engineers, emitting pheromones to attract mates, guide others to food, or set off alarms about invaders. \u201cAnts can communicate pretty complicated messages to each other by using chemicals,\u201d Mathis says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their fascinating, quirky behaviors led Mathis to study ants\u2019 beneficial behaviors as a Ph.D. student in environmental science, policy, and management at University of California-Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI love how ants are this incredibly simple organism, but they can come together cooperatively in groups and do really complex things.\u201d<\/p>\u2014 professor kaitlyn mathis<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Southern Mexico, when studying the Azteca ant, which is attacked by phorid flies that prevent the ants from foraging on pests within coffee plantations, she discovered a new beetle species. Phorid flies inject eggs into the aggressive Azteca ant, rendering it docile and helpless; the fly\u2019s larva then emerges and eats the ant\u2019s head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mathis observed a tiny beetle preying on the parasitized ant, consuming the phorid fly larva in the process. By conducting experiments with the beetles, along with healthy and parasitized ants, she discovered that the beetle was attracted to the injured ant\u2019s alarm pheromone, but wouldn\u2019t attack the healthy, aggressive worker ants twice its size. She concluded that \u201cthe Azteca ants are benefiting the coffee, and the beetles are helping keep the phorid flies from stopping that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese results are the first, to our knowledge, to demonstrate a predator sharing cues with a parasitoid to gain access to an otherwise unavailable prey item,\u201d according to Mathis and her collaborator. Their findings<\/a> were published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mathis named the beetle Myrmedonota xipe<\/em> for an Aztec deity \u201cworshiped via human sacrifices \u2026 an apt metaphor for the beetles\u2019 role in Azteca ant colonies,\u201d she writes<\/a> in The Conversation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The research, she concludes, \u201cshows that a complex web of interactions between many species of insects can provide important ecosystem services, like pest control, in agroecosystems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n<\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-can-ants-help-farmers-in-new-england\">Can ants help farmers in New England?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At Clark, Mathis\u2019 research \u2014 in which she always involves students, who often receive \u201cfirst author\u201d status on peer-reviewed journal articles \u2014 continues to unpack how undersized creatures can have oversized impacts on the food we grow and the places we call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In studying ants in \u201cecosystems that have been modified by humans\u201d through agriculture or urbanization, she asks, \u201cWhat does the ecology of these spaces look like? How does that impact the species interactions that you see there? And how might that affect how we manage those areas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, \u201cCan we leverage those species interactions to increase biodiversity, reduce pesticide usage, and make the world better?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe so. Humans have relied on ants as agricultural \u201cworkers\u201d since 304 A.D., according to Mathis, the first recorded use of green tree ants by the Chinese to protect citrus crops from pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the newly opened Experimental Plant Investigation Center (EPIC) attached to the Cathy ’83 and Marc ’81 Lasry Center for Bioscience, Mathis is overseeing Ph.D. candidate Joseph Nelsen\u2019s investigation of how organic farmers in New England might leverage the interactions between striped cucumber beetle pests and ant protectors in <em>cucurbits <\/em>vegetable crops like cucumbers and zucchini. Nelsen\u2019s dissertation <a href=\"https:\/\/projects.sare.org\/sare_project\/gne24-316\/\">research is funded<\/a> by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cInformation gained from studies like mine … may be a useful tool for farmers dedicated to sustainably growing food.\u201d<\/p><cite>\u2014 PH.D. CANDIDATE JOSEPH NELSEN<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Farmers often grow \u201ccompanion\u201d plants near crops that include specific traits that help them grow. Similarly, the Clark researchers are growing partridge pea wildflowers near the cucumber and zucchini plants. Both zucchini and partridge pea plants have extrafloral nectaries, \u201clike little ant-sized dog bowls on the leaf or at the base of the leaf, and the ants drink out of them,\u201d says Mathis, who is affiliated with Clark\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/schools\/climate-environment-and-society\/\">School of Climate, Environment, and Society<\/a>, set to open in Fall 2025..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many plants have evolved to include these extrafloral nectaries, attracting ants and other beneficial insects that remove pests like the striped cucumber beetle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re exploring whether we see plants locally that have these extrafloral nectaries and, if so, do we see beneficial insect presence increase?\u201d Mathis explains. \u201cHow does that affect pest presence? How does that affect farmers\u2019 crop yields? If you add companion plants that have extrafloral nectaries along the edges of crops, does that boost the presence of beneficial insects?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nelsen also is studying whether the ants\u2019 chemical traces on the plants deter pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cInformation gained from studies like mine will build on our understanding of the plant-protecting activities that abundant omnivorous insects like ants provide,\u201d he says, \u201cwhich may be a useful tool for farmers dedicated to sustainably growing food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pests-in-california-citrus-orchards\">Pests in California citrus orchards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When humans introduce new insect species, local ecosystems are disrupted, often leading to agricultural crop losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a study of Southern California citrus groves, Mathis, her student Olivia Anastasio \u201919, M.S. \u201920, and Monique Rivera of the Entomology Department at University of California, Riverside, examined the interactions between native ants and two invasive insect pests \u2014 the Argentine ant and the Asian citrus psyllid it protects from insect \u201cenemies.\u201d A sap-sucking insect, the Asian citrus psyllid carries Huanglongbing, a lethal \u201cgreening\u201d disease that threatens California\u2019s $2 billion citrus industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Argentine ants were the most abundant ants in all 10 citrus orchards the researchers examined in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to their 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=MFV9WDIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=MFV9WDIAAAAJ:YsMSGLbcyi4C\">article published<\/a> (with Anastasio as first author) in <em>Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In crops where the Asian citrus psyllid is present, Argentine ants are more active and appear to have driven out many native ant species, according to the researchers. In addition, the ants were more active at citrus grove edges adjacent to other habitats or urban areas versus the grove\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study could help farmers \u201creduce the amount of citrus psyllids by changing how much edge is present on their farms,\u201d says Mathis, who earlier <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/full\/10.1073\/pnas.1008617108\">co-published a draft genome sequence<\/a> of the Argentine ant in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_Epic_Greenhouse_Mathis_Lab_23_OCT-49-web-1.jpg\" alt=\"Ph.D. candidate Joseph Nelsen tends to zucchini plants in the EPIC lab.\" class=\"wp-image-69812\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16\/9;object-fit:cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ph.D. candidate Joseph Nelsen tends to zucchini plants in the EPIC lab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-invasive-ants-in-new-england\">Invasive ants in New England<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Several years ago, Mathis and her students \u2014 Amelia Curry \u201921, M.S. \u201922, Nelsen, and Dale Stevens, Ph.D. \u201922 \u2014 expanded their research to New England, collecting 61 ant species in 46 central Massachusetts sites, including farms, forests, and urban parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since 1985, New England has lost nearly 865,000 acres of forest due to urbanization and agricultural use. This has led to a decline in ant biodiversity, which can \u201chave serious ecological consequences, as these organisms provide many essential ecosystem services such as pollination, nutrient cycling, biological pest control and decomposition,\u201d they explain in a 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=MFV9WDIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=MFV9WDIAAAAJ:ufrVoPGSRksC\">article published<\/a> in <em>Insect Conservation and Diversity<\/em> (with Curry as first author).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cMyrmica rubra is the most aggressive ant invasive species found in New England, with wide-reaching deleterious ecological impacts.\u201d<\/p><cite>\u2014 Amelia Curry \u201921, M.S. \u201922; PH.D. candidate JOSEPH Nelsen; Dale Stevens, Ph.D. \u201922; and professor kaitlyn mathis<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As in California, such changes can lead to a decrease in native ant species and an increase in non-native, more destructive ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOverall, we found that land use type does have a significant effect on ant species richness, with farm habitats having a lower species richness than parks,\u201d according to the researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of concern, they found <em>Myrmica rubra<\/em>, or European fire ant, in all areas, especially forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c<em>Myrmica rubra<\/em> is the most aggressive ant invasive species found in New England,\u201d they say, \u201cwith wide-reaching deleterious ecological impacts on the invertebrate community, [and] is even capable of killing small mammals and negatively affecting the growth rates of ground-nesting birds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_Epic_Greenhouse_Mathis_Lab_23_OCT-11-web-1.jpg\" alt=\"Ants on a zucchini plant\" class=\"wp-image-69822\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16\/9;object-fit:cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Both zucchini (above, a leaf) and partridge pea plants have extrafloral nectaries, \u201clike little ant-sized dog bowls on the leaf or at the base of the leaf, and the ants drink out of them,\u201d Professor Kaitlyn Mathis says. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-are-european-fire-ants-spreading-in-the-us\">Are European fire ants spreading in the US?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mathis now is working with biology Ph.D. student Daley O\u2019Keefe on her dissertation research to better understand the spread of European fire ants in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHumans bring in all of these invasives when we come to new places,\u201d Mathis says, likely introducing <em>Myrmica rubra<\/em> to Boston from Europe in the early 1900s. Living mostly in cold areas, the ants also have been found in Canada and on the West Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s had a chance to establish,\u201d she says, \u201cbut nobody has a sense of what it\u2019s exact range is and how it’s impacting local species.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>O\u2019Keefe seeks to determine how and where the insects have moved, what other insects can be found living and interacting with the European fire ants, and what kind of microbial community coexists within the ants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s really interested in thinking about how that microbial community might change based on where the ant is living,\u201d Mathis explains, whether in forests or urban areas. O\u2019Keefe is also looking at the population genetics of the ants, as well as their migration patterns into the U.S. and Canada, to help scientists, farmers, and others better predict where we can expect the European fire ants to move next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024_Mathis_Lab_Ant_Sort-10-web-scaled-2.jpg\" alt=\"Doctoral student Daley O\u2018Keefe studies the spread of European fire ants.\" class=\"wp-image-69813\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16\/9;object-fit:cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Doctoral student Daley O\u2018Keefe studies the spread of European fire ants.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-does-urban-heat-affect-biodiversity\">How does urban heat affect biodiversity?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Human activity \u2014 such as rapid urbanization, which increases temperatures in and around cities \u2014 can disturb the beneficial ants that help maintain healthy ecosystems, according to Mathis.<br><br>In a first-of-its-kind <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=MFV9WDIAAAAJ&citation_for_view=MFV9WDIAAAAJ:_FxGoFyzp5QC\">study<\/a> published last year in <em>Ecology and Evolution<\/em>, Mathis and her students \u2014 first author Brooke Harris \u201921, M.S. \u201922, and Stevens \u2014 explain the effects of higher temperatures on three types of cavity-dwelling ants (<em>Aphaenogaster picea<\/em>, <em>Tapinoma sessile<\/em>, and <em>Temnothorax longispinosus<\/em>), which \u201clive in the hollowed cavities of fallen acorns, oak galls and twigs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over two months, the scientists incubated and observed ants from urban and rural areas of Worcester at multiple temperatures in Mathis\u2019 lab. They discovered that the three species reacted to temperature changes in different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cStudying the ways in which cavity-dwelling ants adapt to these stressors can provide insight into the future of biodiversity and the ways in which conservation efforts should be applied to these areas of change,\u201d the scientists say. Their study is the first \u201cto address these metrics across multiple ant species from different habitats, providing a greater understanding into how intraspecific competition may respond to human development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Mathis explains, \u201cdifferent species are evolving at different paces with different behaviors, so it\u2019s a complicated web to untangle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re going to live in an increasingly urban, increasingly warm world, what is this going to mean for these ant communities? How are they going to respond, and how universal are those responses?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Ants-22-web-scaled-2.jpg\" alt=\"An entire colony of ants lives in an acorn\" class=\"wp-image-69814\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16\/9;object-fit:cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An entire colony of ants lives in an acorn. Professor Kaitlyn Mathis is studying the dynamics of these acorn-dwelling ants.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-fascinating-world-of-acorn-dwellers\">The fascinating world of acorn dwellers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Mathis\u2019 research into ant behaviors continues in the EPIC lab, where she is observing the genus <em>Temnothorax<\/em>, the acorn-nesting ants. She keeps Tupperware containers full of hollowed-out acorns, each housing an entire colony, including the queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cIf you\u2019re walking through the forest, and you crack open an acorn, you might find an entire mini ant colony inside.\u201d<\/p><cite>\u2014 BIOLOGY PROFESSOR KAITLYN MATHIS<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re walking through the forest, and you crack open an acorn, you might find an entire mini ant colony inside,\u201d she says<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ants rely on acorn weevils to \u201cprepare\u201d their homes. \u201cThe acorns fall from the trees and then acorn weevils burrow a hole in the acorn and put their larvae inside,\u201d Mathis explains. \u201cThe larvae eat the contents of the acorn and leave before they become adults. That leaves this beautiful, hollowed-out acorn for the ants to occupy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mathis is investigating how the acorn-nesting ants\u2019 environment influences the dynamics within their colony. The ants generally live where there are oak trees, including in cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the summer, the acorn-nesting ants will branch out so they can expand their foraging range,\u201d she says. \u201cThey will have multiple queens in what\u2019s called a polydomous nesting structure with multiple acorns acting as satellite nests. Then in the winter, they\u2019ll condense back into a single acorn for the winter to stay warm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mathis doesn\u2019t know where ants will lead her next, but by observing how they behave, interact with other organisms, and adapt to change, she\u2019s always headed down a new, and potentially undiscovered, path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2022-Anh-Le-25-web-scaled-2.jpg\" alt=\"Anh Le \u201923 conducts research on acorn-nesting ants in Professor Kaitlyn Mathis\u2019 lab in 2022.\" class=\"wp-image-69820\" style=\"aspect-ratio:16\/9;object-fit:cover\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Anh Le \u201923 conducts research on acorn-nesting ants in Professor Kaitlyn Mathis\u2019 lab in 2022. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">All photos by Steven King, University Photographer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"h-explore-climate-and-sustainability-issues-as-a-student-at-clark\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/explore\/sustainable-future\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Explore climate and sustainability issues as a student at Clark<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clark biologists find mystery and majesty in a common insect<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12156,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"#525250","story_headerImg":12156,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[241,227],"displayed_author":[242],"featured":[],"topic":[244,131,160,161,162,135],"class_list":["post-12155","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment-sustainability","category-science-technology","displayed_author-meredith-woodward-king","topic-biology","topic-climate-change","topic-faculty-research","topic-food-and-farming","topic-research","topic-sustainability"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>\u2018Ants are more complicated than people think\u2019 | ClarkU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/2025\/01\/16\/ants-are-more-complicated-than-people-think\/\" \/>\n<meta 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