Leafcutter ants, the underground farmers of the insect world, are getting a lot of attention these days thanks to the work of UO researcher Robert Schofield.

Schofield just released a paper that offers a remarkably detailed look at the organized labor that takes place in a leafcutter ant colony, along with videos that take viewers right into the underground farms where the ants work. The research recently made headlines in The Los Angeles Times and was picked up by many other news and science organizations.

Schofield told the Times that his research shows that ants aren’t the simple bugs many think them to be.

“I think ants are much more complex organisms than we thought,” he said.

For the full story, see “Videos reveal the amazing lives of leafcutter ants, nature’s underground farmers.”