Past interactions of ants with other organisms

Abstract

The question, when ants first appeared, remains unanswered. However, images of ants in Burmese amber show that some extinct types existed back then. By the mid-Cenozoic, most fossil ants could be assigned to extant genera. The present work examines ancient associations between ants and other organisms based on fossils in amber. Topics include fungal associates, interactions with higher plants, associations between ants and arachnids, ants bringing food to the colony, insect parasites and predators, nematode parasites, ants visiting flowers, ant mimics and gut microbes in ants. All specimens included in the present work are listed with the amber source, present location, published accounts and accession numbers of those in the Poinar amber collection (PAC).