Ant

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the orderHymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the Cretaceous period, about 140 million years ago, and diversifiedafter the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists,more info:wiki

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#10    Ants provide clues to why biodiversity is higher in the tropics,more info:phys

It’s a puzzle that has confounded biologists for centuries: the earth’s tropical regions are home to an enormous variety of plant and animal species, but as you travel north or south, away from the equator, the level of diversity dwindles.

Scientists don’t know why biodiversity tends to concentrate around tropical regions, but they have put forward several hypotheses. One states that higher latitudes cannot support high biodiversity because of a lack of sunlight and heat. Another proposes that increased solar radiation in tropical latitudes could result in higher mutation rates there.

Yet a third points out that the colder ecosystems of earth are younger than their equatorial equivalents. During a period of rapid global cooling called the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, which occurred 34 million years ago, the planet’s tropical habitats shrank dramatically toward the equator, while ice sheets grew at the poles. These newer, colder habitats have simply not existed long enough for as many species to accumulate as they have in the tropics, some scientists say.

#9   Green-ant mimic,more info:malcolmtattersall

 

#8    Where Are the Ants Carrying All Those Leaves?,more info:kqed

That assumption would be wrong. Though the ants drink the sap in the leaves for energy, they don’t eat them. Instead, they use the leaves to grow something else. These ants, known as leafcutters, are some of the world’s earliest and most competent farmers. They use those leaf pieces to feed a fungus that grows in white tufts in their nests. The fungus provides sustenance to the ants and their brood.

Cal Academy is planning to boost its leafcutter ants’ exhibit so that visitors have an easier time watching the tiny farmers at work. The ant colony is of the species Atta cephalotes – one of 50 leafcutter species in the Americas, the only region in the world where they’re found. It was brought to the Bay Area from Trinidad by Brian Fisher, chair of the Academy’s Department of Entomology. The ants currently carry leaf pieces inside a plastic tube about 8 feet long. The expanded exhibit will give visitors a better view and also make things more exciting for the ants. As it turns out, even ants need some excitement.

#7     Termites or Ants? How Can You Tell The Difference! » ant,more info:ipminc.wordpress

 

#6    Leafcutter ants have evolved defences to fight parasitic fungus, study shows,more info:independent

On the face of it, a leafcutter ant’s nest is a perfect picture of harmonious relationships. Worker ants go out to forage for fresh leaf material that they use to grow a fungus (Leucoagaricus gonglyophorous).

In return for a mulchy compost of fresh leaves, the fungus breaks down the plant material to produce nutritious, edible structures which the ants can digest.

However, mine and my colleagues’ latest research suggests that this image ignores the chemical warfare being waged by leafcutter ants.

#5  A few species of ant are pirates that enslave other ants,more info:bbc

 

#4  Researchers nearly double the size of worker ants,more info:sciencemag

Researchers have changed the size of a handful of Florida ants by chemically modifying their DNA, rather than by changing its encoded information. The work is the latest advance from a field known as epigenetics and may help explain how the insects—despite their high degree of genetic similarity—grow into the different varieties of workers needed in a colony.

This discovery “takes the field leaps and bounds forward,” says entomologist Andrew Suarez of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, who wasn’t connected to the study. “It’s providing a better understanding of how genes interact with the environment to generate diversity.”

Ant nests have division of labor down pat. The queen spends her time pumping out eggs, and the workers, which are genetically similar sisters, perform all the other jobs necessary to keep the colony thriving, such as tending the young, gathering food, and excavating tunnels. Workers in many ant species specialize even further, forming so-called subcastes that look different and have different roles. In Florida carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus), for example, workers tend to fall into two groups. Minor workers, which can be less than 6 mm long, rear the young and forage for food. Major workers, which can be almost twice as long, use their large jaws to protect the colony from predators.

#3  Australian endangered species: Dinosaur Ant,more info:theconversation

The Dinosaur Ant (Nothomyrmecia macrops) is so-called because it is a “living fossil”. It is arguably one of the closest living examples of what some of the earliest true ants might have been like, both in body plan and behaviour, perhaps 100 million years ago.

Ants evolved from wasps, and Nothomyrmecia is thought to be the most wasp-like of all ant species alive today. It is related to Australian endemic bulldog ants (of the genus Myrmecia), but is more primitive. It is therefore a prime subject for studying the evolution of ants and their social behaviour.

Dinosaur Ants live in colonies like other ants. Each night worker foragers leave the nests to seek liquid or soluble food, and to hunt for prey insects, which are captured, immobilised by stinging and promptly returned to the nests as food for the carnivorous larvae.

#2  We’ve been looking at ant intelligence the wrong way,more info:theconversation

How intelligent are animals? Despite centuries of effort by philosophers, psychologists and biologists, the question remains unanswered. We are inclined to tackle this question using a top-down approach. It seems intuitive to start with our own assumptions about human intelligence, and design experiments that ask whether animals possess similar anthropomorphic abilities.

Do animals have a language, or a personality? Do they feel empathy or achieve abstract reasoning? This approach does suit the study of animals closely related to us, like apes. But is it relevant when studying animals such as insects?

Insects certainly display complex and apparently intelligent behaviour. They navigate over long distances, find food, avoid predators, communicate, display courtship, care for their young, and so on. The complexity of their behavioural repertoire is comparable to any mammal.

#1  Fire Ant Bites in Horses,more info:wagwalking

What is Fire Ant Bites ?

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