Ancient ants leaving a modern trail

It is thought that ants evolved about 150 million years ago and have risen to dominance in the past 60 million years. They are now everywhere and while they are not always welcome on your kitchen counter, they are critical to ecosystems around the world for many roles, including seed dispersal and decomposition. Now new research shows that past land connections, as well as current climate, are shown to be of primary importance in determining ant diversity patterns.