Plant–ant interactions are generally considered as mutualisms, with both parties gaining
benefits from the association. It has recently emerged that some of these mutualistic …

The Hymenoptera are one of the largest orders of insects, comprising almost 160,000
described extant species with a true total of possibly over one million species. Most species …

Despite their reputation for building fortress-like colonies, ants and other social insects have
many natural enemies that can infiltrate and exploit them. This profitable strategy, which …

Studying the behavioral and life history transitions from a cooperative, eusocial life history to
exploitative social parasitism allows for deciphering the conditions under which changes in …

The distribution of food resources in space and time is likely to be an important factor
governing the type of foraging strategy used by ants. However, no previous systematic …

In ant social parasitism, the process by which parasite–host systems evolved and the types
of invasion mechanisms parasites use are being debated. Emery's rule, for example, states …

Hosts have evolved a multiplicity of defensive responses against avian brood parasites. One
of them is mobbing behaviour which often includes direct contact attacks. These aggressive …

Because of their beneficial impact on forest ecosystems, European red wood ants (Formica
rufa group) are protected by law in many European countries and are considered to be …

The ecological success of social Hymenoptera (ants, bees, wasps) depends on the division
of labour between the queen and workers. Each caste exhibits highly specialized …

The genus Polyergus is characterized, and all valid species reinstated and re-described,
and five new species described, based on morphometric, ecological, host-association, and …