High-speed video solves how Florida ants furnish their nests with their enemies’ bodies

The nests of Florida ants called Formica archboldi are adorned with the carcasses of their enemies — namely, the heads of other species known as trap-jaw ants. How Formica archboldi acquire these gruesome home accessories has perplexed scientists since the 1950s. But now, thanks to high-speed and time lapse videos, we have a better picture of this bizarre behavior.The study has been long in the making for Adrian Smith, the head of the Evolutionary Biology & Behavior Lab at the North C