High-rise living: How weaver ants build leaf nests using living 'zippers' and 'weights'

The rainforests of northern Australia are home to extraordinary ant colonies. Instead of dwelling in underground burrows, these ants inhabit canopies of trees, dozens of meters above the ground, inside hollow spheres they construct from tree leaves. During the building process, the ants link their bodies together to form living tools, eventually weaving the leaves into nests using silk threads produced by their larvae—hence their name: weaver ants.