“Antscan” makes the diversity of ants systematically accessible
- Date: Mar 2026
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Insects are the most species-rich groups of animals and play key roles in ecosystems. The open “Antscan” repository provides free access to thousands of 3D datasets of ants - an ecologically dominant insect group - to study morphology, anatomy, evolution, and biodiversity.
“Antscan" makes the diversity of ants systematically accessible
Insects represent the most species-rich class of animals. They fulfill key functions in ecosystems and serve as models for technologies that mimic biological structures.
The bottom line shows virtual slices through the tomographic volumes of four ant species acquired with
different magnifications.
Scientific insect collections are indispensable not only for documenting and describing species and biodiversity, but also for understanding the interplay of morphology, physiology, and genetics, and for monitoring the effects of environmental and climatic influences.
Focusing on ants as a globally distributed, ecologically dominant group of insects, the freely accessible Antscan platform is the result of international collaboration. Antscan serves as a vast resource for the study of ant morphology, anatomy and evolution. It was initiated by KIT and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and is aimed at researchers, teachers, and the interested public.
The Article describing the Antscan workflow and resource was published in Nature Methods.
Antscan Platform: www.antscan.info
Original Article: J. Katzke at al.: "High-throughput phenomics of global ant biodiversity", Nature Methods (2026), DOI: 10.1038/s41592-026-03005-0
Research Briefing: DOI: 10.1038/s41592-026-03004-1
KIT Press Release: Digitalization: Antscan Reveals the Fascinating Diversity in Ants, Press Release 013/2026
Antscan in the Media: