The reference to the experiment involving an ant colony established by humans on a small Finnish island surviving thanks to a single tree reminded me of another fantastic insect survival story from the Pacific. Via the NPR account of the 2001 discovery:
What's more, for years this place had a secret. At 225 feet above sea level, hanging on the rock surface, there is a small, spindly little bush, and under that bush, a few years ago, two climbers, working in the dark, found something totally improbable hiding in the soil below. How it got there, we still don't know.
Read the story and check out the pictures of the island. It's amazing.
Story: https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2012/02/24/147367644/s...
Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3651551