Ant
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Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More
Bright red ant, likely part of the Formica pallidefulva species group, on a flower
Ants fossilised in Baltic amber
Bull ant showing the powerful mandibles and the relatively large compound eyes that provide excellent vision
Sphecomyrma
Videos
Sphecomyrma is an extinct genus of ants which existed in the Cretaceous approximately 79 to 92 million years ago. The first specimens were collected in 1966, found embedded in amber which had been exp
Paratype worker of S. freyi
A comparison of the archetypal ant as hypothesised before the discovery of Sphecomyrma. The body details of the hypothesised ancestor (top) are made the same as S. freyi (bottom) for convenience.
Original hypothetical cladogram showing the placement of Sphecomyrma, with the tiphiid wasps as the potential ancestor