The story
Ants are social wasps. The oldest unmistakable ants are in Burmese amber about 99 million years old and include Haidomyrmex, the so-called hell ants, with scythe-shaped jaws that moved up and down instead of sideways. Sphecomyrma freyi, found in New Jersey amber and described by Edward Wilson, Frank Carpenter and William Brown in 1967, was the first Cretaceous ant to be recognized. Genetic clocks suggest the ant lineage began earlier, about 140 to 160 million years ago.
Early ants were few and rare. Their rise came when flowering plants formed dense forests, creating leaf litter full of small prey and shelter, which allowed ants to diversify into thousands of species. Colonies with a queen, sterile workers and division of labor, like those of the termites and bees, proved extremely successful. Today there are more than 14,000 species of ants described, and they occupy nearly every land habitat except the polar regions.
Why it mattered
- Ants became among the most abundant and influential insects, reshaping soils and seed dispersal.
- Their colonies are a leading case of insect societies, a subject that Edward Wilson devoted his career to.
- The Cretaceous amber records give a rare view of small animals and their social evolution.
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