As many as 100,000 fire ants can interlock with one another and form a living raft to save their colony when at risk of drowning in rising water.

Research suggests ants are the most abundant insect on the planet, with an estimated 2.5 million of them for every human on Earth.

A day in the life of a leafcutter ant

Among the fascinating world of insects, leafcutter ants form some of the most complex and dynamic social ecosystems. All part of an effort to keep a colony alive, worker ants toil tirelessly, dragging bits of leaves and vegetation back to their...

To prevent floating away from others while sleeping, sea otters may wrap themselves in kelp or hold paws, using physical contact to form groups known as 'rafts.'

Some female fireflies mimic the signals of other species to lure in and eat them

The genus Photuris does not produce its own defensive pheromones to ward off predators, so it has developed mimicry to attract males of firefly species that do. Unsuspecting males are consumed after these chemicals—lucibufagins—are extracted.

Fireflies light up to provide mating signals and warnings to predators

Variations in the illumination patterns and flight paths while emitting light have been observed across firefly species. Some species instead rely on pheromones if they are primarily active during the day or have lost the ability to illuminate.

Spiders may manipulate captured male fireflies into mimicking female mating signals

Rather than killing a male firefly captured in its web, the Araneus ventricosus spider bites into it, which researchers believe injects a venom that disrupts normal flashing behavior and produces a form of mimicry to attract additional males. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Watch Cordyceps, a parasitic fungus, turn an ant into a ‘zombie’

This National Geographic TV clip shows how a parasitic Cordyceps species—sometimes colloquially called the “zombie ant fungus”—controls an ant’s behavior and kills its host. The fungus can rapidly wipe out entire insect colonies.

The giant African harvester ant is rising in popularity as a pet and fueling illegal global trade, with creatures sometimes costing as much as $220.

Linepithema humile is an invasive species of Argentine ant that has constructed a supercolony—an interconnected network of nests and tunnels—spanning from Portugal to Italy.

Cordyceps: the fungi that turn ants into zombies

The hit show (and video game) "Last of Us" was inspired partly by real-life species of fungi that have been known to turn ants into zombies. Spores of the Cordyceps fungi are capable of penetrating the exoskeletons of arthropods, after which they break into enzymes and proliferate within the body. The fungal cells then hack the ant's nervous system and trigger compulsive climbing.

Why scientists are making robot insects

Insects have much to teach us about flying, jumping, moving quickly, and more. So, roboticists are studying how insects do the ridiculous things they do, like walk on water or jump fifty times their body height, to inform their design and engineering of a new slate of robots: tiny ones. Learn the future of this type of robot with this fascinating video with insights into both insects and robots.

Coral reefs are built by thousands of coral polyps—tiny animals whose mouths both consume food and expel waste.

As immobile animals, corals and the organisms that live on them have evolved a suite of chemical compounds to prevent disease and ward off predators they cannot outrun.

Over 1 million fish, marine mammals, and invertebrate species depend on coral reefs for habitats, camouflage, and food.

The fish can climb walls

Scientists in Brazil captured rare footage of bumblebee catfish climbing waterfalls. How they do it is clear, but why remains a mystery.

Research has found that when their symbiotic algae are not producing oxygen via photosynthesis, corals twirl hairlike structures to circulate water and draw oxygen into their outer tissues.

How fighting wildfires works

Firefighters use sophisticated strategies to control wildfires that sometimes cover thousands of acres. This video breaks down how teams set up fire lines to isolate the fires by cutting down brush and trees around the existing fire, among other...

Fire engines are among the most complex vehicles on the road

These vehicles are purpose-built to carry water, foam, hoses, ladders, and lifesaving equipment to a scene in minutes. This animated video pulls apart every system inside a pumper truck, showing exactly how the machinery that fights fires actually works.

Synthetic pheromones may protect coral reefs by attracting their predators

Researchers in Australia and Japan have developed these nontoxic chemicals to attract crown-of-thorns starfish, which consume corals that make up the Great Barrier Reef. As of 2026, synthetic pheromones have been shown to be effective in lab trials, and future field trials will attempt to lure starfish into areas for mass removal.

Bioluminescence provides organisms with a method of hunting, defense, or mating

Unlike glow sticks, bioluminescent reactions use renewable resources like oxygen and ATP. This ability allows fireflies to mate and deter predators, anglerfish to confuse and attract prey, and deep-sea shrimp to defend themselves by vomiting glowing slush.

Rising wildfire smoke can create 'fire clouds'—towering clouds that can help combat fires through downbursts of rain or complicate firefighting efforts by triggering new fires via lightning strikes.

Poison frogs get their toxins from eating insects and mice

Other animals, including royal ground snakes, are able to survive eating poison. Scientists study the creative antitoxin defenses in these animals to discover treatments for poisoning.

Deep sea fish rely on a molecular strengthener to prevent being crushed

Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) stabilizes hydrogen bonds and prevents water and proteins within organisms from being misshapen under immense pressure. Compounds called piezolytes protect cellular membranes from being crushed in regions like the Mariana Trench, where pressures are 1,100 times greater than surface atmospheric pressure.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

A chemical overview of water, whose uncommon properties help sustain life on Earth

The uneven distribution of charge in water molecules allows them to bond to each other and to surfaces, enabling them to move against gravity, including up plants through roots and stems. These bonds also keep water in a liquid state over a wider temperature range and make it less dense as it freezes. This causes ice to float and form an insulating layer for underwater ecosystems, from which all life originated.

A look at how fish less than two inches long climb up 50-foot waterfalls

Shellears use tiny hooks on their front pectoral fins to grip rock like Velcro and take many pauses to recover energy between bursts of movement. Their pectoral girdle—an arch of bone—supports the muscle system needed for the roughly ten-hour climb.

One jellyfish species is biologically immortal

Turritopsis dohrnii is a type of jellyfish that can revert back to a juvenile stage after reaching sexual maturity, theoretically allowing it to stay alive for good. But that's a tough sell in a world full of predators. See this list of some of the longest-living species on Earth.

Swarms of mechanical bees may one day support natural pollination

Engineers are racing to create tiny robot bees that can be programmed to mimic natural bee behavior, helping in specific scenarios such as indoor farming and space agriculture. Battery life challenges may be solved by having these robots accompanied by a nearby "mother" drone power supply.

The Southern Ocean's powerful circular current isolates organisms in its environment

The spiralling current churns up nutrients across the frigid waters, leading to the evolution of fantastical organisms, including century-old starfish and colossal squid, and unique adaptations, including the icefish's clear blood and organic antifreeze, over the past 30 million years.

Ticks are extremely hard to kill

These arachnids can transmit more than a dozen diseases to humans, and they're very resilient: Some can survive extreme heat and cold, live for years without a blood meal, and even survive multiple days underwater.

A history of raising the alarm, from rattles to 911

Because fires spread so quickly, communities around the world have deployed many tactics to raise the alarm to get help. This history from the Museum of Natural History dives into the use of rattles, bells, and brigades to gather help to fight fires, showing just how far we've come since 911 was introduced in 1968.

While invasive species typically harm ecosystems by outcompeting native organisms for resources, some provide unexpected benefits, including new shelters, nesting habitats, and reduced environmental heat stress.

The Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish can reverse its life cycle

Discovered in the 1980s, this creature has been dubbed the "immortal jellyfish" for its ability to revert from medusa to polyp form and back, preventing it from dying of old age. However, the jellyfish remains prey to fish and turtles and is defenseless to sea slugs as a polyp.

Able to hold their breath for up to 15 minutes, beavers are considered keystone species via their construction of dams and formation of wetlands, which serve as homes and food sources for fish, birds, insects, and other animals.

What is it like to be a bee?

Scientists have long known the intimate features of bee anatomy: six limbs, five eyes, lots of hair, a long, tasteless tube -like tongue, and wings that stroke close to 12,000 times a minute. But getting inside the mind or consciousness of a...

To survive underwater hibernation, some freshwater turtles perform cloacal breathing—blood vessels absorb dissolved oxygen from water drawn into the organism's cloaca, or rear orifice.

Particle accelerators have been used to reveal detailed ant anatomy

Using a synchrotron facility at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, a pair of X-ray beams swept across about 2,200 ant specimens to create over 200 terabytes of projection images from multiple angles. The images were compiled into micrometer-resolution 3D reconstructions of 792 species, which are freely accessible on the Antscan platform.