Ants in your house? Here’s how they get everywhere – even high up in tall buildings

Windy Soemara/Shutterstock Tanya Latty, University of SydneyAnts are among nature’s greatest success stories, with an estimated 22,000 species worldwide. Tropical Australia in particular is a global hotspot for ant diversity. Some researchers believe it could hold some of the richest ant biodiversity on the planet, with an estimated 5,000 species in the tropics alone. But if ants are so successful out in nature, why do they so often turn up in our homes and even upper-level apartments? And what can we do to keep them out? There’s probably an ant near you right now Ants dominate the planet in terms of sheer abundance. At any given moment, there are an estimated 20 quadrillion ants alive — that’s 20 followed by 15 zeros. In fact, for every human being, there are roughly 2.5 million ants. There are about 22,000 ant species worldwide. This one is called the Green tree ant (Oecophylla smaragdina). Tanya LattySo the short answer to “Why are there ants in my house?” is simply this: there are a lot of ants. We live on a planet where ants outnumber us by an almost unimaginable margin. The fact that a few occasionally wander into our homes shouldn’t come as a surprise. Ants work from home (yours, that is) Ants owe much of their success to their highly social nature. Within the colony, some individuals (female queens...

Read More........→March 28, 2025

Melting Antarctic ice will slow the world’s strongest ocean current – and the global consequences are profound

Mongkolchon Akesin, Shutterstock Taimoor Sohail, The University of Melbourne and Bishakhdatta Gayen, The University of MelbourneFlowing clockwise around Antarctica, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the strongest ocean current on the planet. It’s five times stronger than the Gulf Stream and more than 100 times stronger than the Amazon River. It forms part of the global ocean “conveyor belt” connecting the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The system regulates Earth’s climate and pumps water, heat and nutrients around the globe. But fresh, cool water from melting Antarctic ice is diluting the salty water of the ocean, potentially disrupting the vital ocean current. Our new research suggests the Antarctic Circumpolar Current will be 20% slower by 2050 as the world warms, with far-reaching consequences for life on Earth. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current keeps Antarctica isolated from the rest of the global ocean, and connects the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Sohail, T., et al (2025), Environmental Research Letters., CC BYWhy should we care? The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is like a moat around the icy continent. The current helps to keep warm water at bay, protecting vulnerable ice sheets. It also acts as a barrier to invasive species such as southern bull kelp and any animals hitching a ride on these...

Read More........→March 17, 2025