Researchers from a prominent American institution reported that the practice of farming by ants emerged in the wake of the asteroid impact that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. The event, dated about 66 million years ago, unleashed massive ecological upheaval and created fresh niches for surviving life. In a peer‑reviewed study published in a leading scientific journal, the team traced the roots of this unusual behavior to that moment of world‑shaking disruption when forests, soils, and ecosystems were remade. By analyzing genetic data from 475 fungal species and 276 ant varieties, the investigators built a long view of how ant farming began and evolved over deep time. The findings indicate that fungi thrived on decaying leaf litter and other detrital material left behind by the catastrophe, becoming a ready food source that ants could exploit as life slowly returned to balance. [Cited study]
Into this moment of post‑catastrophe regrowth, ants began to engage with fungi not merely as prey but as partners. By cultivating fungal crops, ants created stable food supplies within crowded, resource‑scarce colonies. This initial stage marked the start of a farming‑like practice, anchoring ant colonies in a new ecological niche and shaping early social organization as workers tended gardens and defended them from competitors and pathogens. The shift illustrates how a simple detour from scavenging can blossom into an enduring mutualism that helps explain the resilience of these insects during a turbulent era of environmental change. The evidence points to a world where fungi were a critical intermediary between dead plant matter and the living insects that depended on it, a link forged in the aftermath of planetary upheaval. [Cited study]
By sequencing extensive samples from both fungi and ants, the researchers were able to reconstruct how the relationship matured. The 475 fungal species and 276 ant varieties provided a robust map of genetic signals that persisted as lineages split and environmental conditions shifted. The results indicate that early ant farmers relied on fungi for sustenance long before any advanced cultivation existed, and that this alliance provided a niche for ants to expand across landscapes as climates stabilized enough to support forests and alternative food sources. The work reveals moments of co‑evolution, where changes in ant behavior align with shifts in fungal diversity, producing a feedback loop that reinforced the partnership over tens of millions of years. [Cited study]
Over millions of years the farming system evolved. Roughly mid‑Eocene to early Oligocene, about 50 to 60 million years ago, the earliest signs of more deliberate cultivation appear in the genetic record. Later, as continents shifted and climates fluctuated, certain ant lineages show evidence of more complex, multi‑fungal gardens and more careful management. By around 25 to 30 million years ago, researchers detect higher forms of agriculture that involve diversifying fungal crops, regulating garden microclimates, and safeguarding gardens from pests. This progression occurred alongside broad climate transitions that reshaped forests, grasslands, and other biomes, underscoring how environmental context can steer the evolution of social insects and their microbial partners. [Cited study]
An older, widely repeated claim about queen ants eating infected brood to boost egg production has not stood up to scrutiny. Contemporary synthesis emphasizes standard reproductive biology and colony dynamics, rather than brood consumption as a driver of reproduction. The story of ants and fungi, told through deep time, is a tale of mutual dependence that grew from scarcity into sophisticated farming practices. It illustrates how a tiny agricultural system could influence broader ecosystem recovery in the wake of mass extinction and how climate change can steer complex symbioses. Ongoing work continues to uncover how ancient farming shaped today’s forests and the many unseen relationships that weave life together on land. [Cited study]