The ants have evolved a stunning global diversity with more than 15,000 extant species belonging to over 330 genera. Their ecological and evolutionary success is rooted in division of labour comparable to what somatic cells in a metazoan body achieve. The Global Ant Genomics Alliance (GAGA) has generated >140 high-quality and contiguous genome assemblies, covering twelve of the world's 16 ant subfamilies. Combined with extensive natural history data, we have used these resources for exploring how transposable elements (TEs) have contributed to ant evolution. 

By comparatively studying abundance, diversity and distribution of TEs across the ant phylogeny, we identify significant contributions of transposable elements to the overall genome architecture and specific genomic and life history traits. Our analyses offer evidence for (1) transposon bursts coinciding with adaptive radiations in the three largest subfamilies of ants ~60 mya, (2) an association of TE diversity with expansions of key gene families involved in the elaboration of social communication in ants, and (3) a division of ant genomes into two distinct compartments: fast evolving TE rich and slowly evolving TE poor regions that show divergent evolutionary trajectories and functional specializations. Together, these findings suggest a significant contribution of TEs as drivers of genomic change to the diversification and evolutionary success of ants.