Madagascar is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots due to its exceptionally endemic biota and high levels of species richness. The remarkable degree of endemism is greatly due to the long isolation from other continents and infrequent colonization events through long distance dispersal leading to subsequent radiations. Madagascar’s geography and biota provide a unique opportunity study the patterns and processes of lineage divergence, speciation, and species diversification. However, despite great progress in our understanding of the biogeography of the Malagasy vertebrate fauna, the processes that led to the evolution of the island’s rich invertebrate fauna remain poorly understood. In this talk I will focus on the evolutionary radiations of the morphologically conspicuous ant genera Terataner Emery and Tetramorium Mayr. Based on an integrative approach combining next generation sequencing, comparative morphology, and 2D linear and 3D geometric morphometrics, I will try to identify the biotic and abiotic drivers responsible for dispersal within Madagascar following colonisation and subsequent species diversification. I will explore the importance of different reproductive dispersal strategies for the generation of biodiversity in the context of Madagascar’s geography. Furthermore, I want to discuss how sets of morphological traits that protect ants from predation and provide the means to expand in ecological niche space can increase species diversification.