Daniel Kronauer

How ant queens are made - News Daniel Kronauer’s research on an unusual ant species illuminates the biochemistry and genetics behind complex social behavior—and potentially offers clues to the evolution of our own social brains.

New research from @danielkronauer.bsky.social's lab in @pnas.org sheds light on how a young ant’s future is determined by genetics and the environment, finding that genes not only influence size, they change what a given size means for the colony. #RockefellerScience

The disapproving looks of a barred owl… Woodstock, NY

Daniel J.C. Kronauer Interview with Daniel Kronauer, who studies the evolution and function of insect societies at Rockefeller University.

Check out our latest issue where we interview @danielkronauer.bsky.social, who studies the evolution and function of insect societies at Rockefeller University. www.cell.com/current-biol...

Pheromone representation in the ant antennal lobe changes with age As social insects age, their behavioral roles in the colony change. Hart et al. find that old ants respond more strongly to pheromones that signal danger, and that these pheromones are represented dif...

@danielkronauer.bsky.social talks about alloparental care in clonal raider 🐜 & how the ants' nutritional state affect this behavior. His lab also develops transgenic 🐜 used for Ca-imaging in the brain.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Current Biology just published a Q&A with me where I talk about my journey as a scientist and why I enjoy interacting with artists.

OA link:
urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...

Headshot of Kip Lacey. Text: Kip Lacy, Unselfish meiotic drive maintains heterozygosity in the clonal raider ant, Society for the Study of Evolution W. D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Presentation.

Text: Society for the Study of Evolution W. D. Hamilton Award Honorable Mentions: Meagan Clark, Long-term demographic and genomic data reveal the consequences of land-use change and inbreeding in populations of a threatened rattlesnake, Jeremy Summers, Isolation in real-time: the demographic and fitness consequences of declining immigration.

Congratulations to this year’s Hamilton Award winner, Kip Lacy, and Honorable Mentions Meagan Clark and Jeremy Summers! www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...

Watch their outstanding talks from virtual #Evol2025: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzh3...

Massive congrats to @mendelslols.bsky.social for this very well deserved honor! 🍾🎈

Ant fathers are vastly under appreciated. OK, they die right after mating and don’t contribute much to colony life beyond their role as “flying sperm vessels”, but still, a single male can father thousands of daughters. Let’s wish this Camponotus americanus carpenter ant male a Happy Father’s Day.

Happy Father’s Day everyone! This tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) is being a good parent by literally stuffing its chick with yummy insects. Woodstock, NY.

Just saw this. This couldn’t have happened to a nicer and more accomplished evolutionary biologist. Congratulations Naomi! 🍾

And the prize for best hairdo goes to…drumroll…this bumblebee-mimicking robber fly (Laphria spec.). This dude is such a close mimic it almost fooled me last weekend. These flies are fierce predators of other insects including, well, bees. Thorn Preserve, Woodstock, NY.

The spiny caterpillar of the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton). Named after Lord Baltimore, this species is the official insect of Maryland. Thorn Preserve, Woodstock, NY.

Here’s a large Dorylus molestus army ant worker guarding the trail of its colony at Mount Kenya.

Congratulations to our graduates! 🥳

Many ants were still attacking the slug, and eventually, as a last resort, it dropped to the floor. Out of the frying pan into the fire. The swarm raid below was still going strong, and within seconds, the slug was engulfed by ants. This time with no more defensive mucus left to secrete... 3/3

This allowed the slug to withstand the ants for about 1.5 hours. However, the ants kept cutting through the mucus, and eventually the slug was forced to emerge and make a “run” for it. Look at all the slime with ants left behind by the slug. 2/3

Here’s a series of pictures from a Dorylus molestus army ant swarm raid at Mount Kenya. At a height of about 1.7 meters up the vegetation, the ants encountered a large slug. The slug initially responded to the ant attack by secreting and encapsulating itself in a thick layer of mucus. 1/3

Yup, they like to get it on! 😜

The dogbane leaf beetle (Chrysochus auratus) is an absolute gem. As the name suggests, these beetles eat dogbane, and have adapted to tolerate the plant’s toxins. Thanks to Caroline Chaboo for confirming the ID. Woodstock, NY.

Immigrant pavement ants (Tetramorium immigrans) originally hail from Europe but are now common in North America. In the spring, they fight intense territorial battles with neighboring colonies. The first image is a portrait, and the second shows them butchering a caterpillar. Woodstock, NY.

Here are a few more portraits of the myrmecophilous clown beetle Haeterius brunneipennis, a guest of Formica wood ants. Thanks to Alexey Tishechkin for the species ID. Woodstock, NY.

Crematogaster acrobat ants have heart-shaped butts, undoubtedly the cutest in the ant world. As the name suggests, they are also very flexible, bending their derrière forward and over the head when upset. Here, they are taking care of their larvae. Woodstock, NY.

Nice!

Here’s a massive rove beetle, the golden-brown Platydracus maculosus, up to ca. 3 cm in length. An actively hunting predator of other arthropods, this dude looked like an insect version of a Komodo dragon or a honey badger to me. Woodstock, NY.

The myrmecophilous clown beetle Haeterius lives inside the nests of Formica wood ants. I found this specimen in a mixed colony of Formica sanguinea-group slave-making ants and their Formica fusca-group hosts in my garden. The beetle is just under 2mm long. Woodstock, NY.

In images 2&3 I have removed the foam, which provides protection from predators and desiccation, to reveal the little spittlebug nymph as it is busy bubbling to remake its nest. If you want to learn more, here are some links: (3/3)

www.amnh.org/explore/news...

www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/s...

They are the creation of spittlebugs, nymphs of the hemipteran family Aphrophoridae. Spittlebugs produce the human equivalent of ~2,500 gallons of urine every day and froth it up into their bubbly abode by blowing air out of their abdomen. Unconventional? Maybe. But it works... (2/3)

This time of year you’re likely to observe clumps of foam like the one shown here on all kinds of plants. This photo is from last weekend in Woodstock, NY. Ever wonder what these things are? (1/3)

Carpenter ant mating flights are imminent in New York. Here are two gynes (young, virgin queens) collected from their natal nests in Woodstock: The American carpenter ant (Camponotus americanus) and the ferruginous carpenter ant (Camponotus chromaiodes).

I’ve got this rock in my garden with both a carpenter ant (Camponotus americanus) and a wood ant (Formica fusca group) colony under it. Every time I flip it over all hell breaks loose and the ants start killing each other. Ants aren’t exactly the best example of love thy neighbor… Woodstock, NY.