100 WVIA Way
Pittston, PA 18640

Phone: 570-826-6144
Fax: 570-655-1180

Copyright © 2025 WVIA, all rights reserved. WVIA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

The Reign of the Hell Ants

Season 3 Episode 32 | 10m 09s

This ancient species had the same six legs and segmented body that we’d recognize from an ant today. But it also had a huge, scythe-like jaw and a horn coming out of its head. This bizarre predator belonged to a group known as “hell ants.” But they’re gone now, and we’re still trying to figure out why.

Aired: 01/20/21
Extras
Long-extinct dinosaurs may still haunt us—possibly driving us to age faster than any vertebrate.
Only twice in Earth's history have supermountains risen, and both times reshaped life forever.
Was the T-Rex given the wrong name?
500+ pterosaur fossils found at Solnhofen may be hiding a dark secret distorting our view of them.
Why are our teeth so sensitive? The answer originates in the armored skin of ancient fish.
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.
Ancient weeds mimicked crops, tricking farmers into domesticating friends—and enemies—by mistake.
Brains and brawn aren’t opposites—they’ve been linked far longer than we might think.
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.
Latest Episodes
All
  • All
  • Eons Season 8
  • Eons Season 7
  • Eons Season 6
  • Eons Season 5
  • Eons Season 4
  • Eons Season 3
  • Eons Season 2
  • Eons Season 1
Long-extinct dinosaurs may still haunt us—possibly driving us to age faster than any vertebrate.
Only twice in Earth's history have supermountains risen, and both times reshaped life forever.
Was the T-Rex given the wrong name?
500+ pterosaur fossils found at Solnhofen may be hiding a dark secret distorting our view of them.
Why are our teeth so sensitive? The answer originates in the armored skin of ancient fish.
For flowering plants to take over, they first helped burn the old world—and then put the fires out.
Ancient weeds mimicked crops, tricking farmers into domesticating friends—and enemies—by mistake.
Brains and brawn aren’t opposites—they’ve been linked far longer than we might think.
Understanding the Isthmus of Panama.
How we might borrow genes from that ancient past of Greenland to help us adapt to the future.