The specIAnt group had their research retreat in Zandvoort, Netherlands the last week. As a group we discussed research group goals and member expectations, as well as time for each member to discuss their work, and discussion of the upcoming review on speciation in ants which the group is working on. In addition to work, we had fun welcoming Noora Poikela, a new postdoc, to the group. Finally, it wasn’t all work and no play, evening games, swimming and dinner all tied the retreat together!