Big-headed ants kill native ants of the genus Crematogaster and eat their eggs, larvae and pupae. Unlike Crematogaster, however, big-headed ants live underground and do not defend trees against ...

While the lions have adapted thus far, the big-headed ants could spell trouble for other species that rely on the whistling-thorn tree, like giraffes or the critically endangered black rhino.

Big-headed ants are considered an invasive species. This means they are alien, or foreign, to a place. Invasive species can also include plants, like cheatgrass.

The big-headed ant species, which originated on the island of Mauritius, is one of the most invasive insects in the world, with colonies found at 1,600 locations, from East Africa to states across ...

Lions in big-headed-ant territory are still making some zebra kills; where their diet needs supplementing, they’re filling in the gaps with buffalo.

As detailed today in the journal Science, the researchers found that the invasion of big-headed ants at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy makes lions less effective at killing zebras, their primary prey.