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While several studies have investigated ant feeding performance on different substrates, comparatively little is known about the functional morphology of the structures involved in food uptake or their diversification across the ants. To take stock of our current knowledge, we give an overview of how adult ants ingest food, followed by a morphological description of the mouthparts, preoral space and cephalic sucking pump. The mandibles are the most prominent mouthparts and have received considerable attention in the literature, so we focus on the maxillae and labium here. We present current hypotheses for the movement patterns of these parts and discuss morphological differences among ants that may be related to their ecological diversity. Finally, we give short comparisons of the ant condition with some other insects and vertebrates, as well as an outlook summarizing gaps in our knowledge. This sets the stage for future studies elucidating the connections between ant feeding mechanisms and mouthpart evolution.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>This article is part of the theme issue \u2018Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals\u2019.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2022.0556","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,15]],"date-time":"2023-10-15T19:05:41Z","timestamp":1697396741000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1098\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":21,"title":["The feeding apparatus of ants: an overview of structure and function"],"prefix":"10.1098","volume":"378","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5627-2302","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Adrian","family":"Richter","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1, Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7402-0432","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Evan P.","family":"Economo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1, Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"175","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_6_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2201550119"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1008891901953"},{"key":"e_1_3_6_4_2","first-page":"133","article-title":"The little things that run the world revisited: a review of ant-mediated ecosystem services and disservices (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)","volume":"17","author":"Del Toro I","year":"2012","unstructured":"Del Toro I, Ribbons RR, Pelini SL. 2012 The little things that run the world revisited: a review of ant-mediated ecosystem services and disservices (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). 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