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Ergatoid
An ergatoid (from Greek '' ergat-'', "worker" + '' -oid'', "like") is a permanently wingless reproductive adult ant or termite. The similar but somewhat ambiguous term ergatogyne refers to any intermediate form between workers and standard gynes. Ergatoid queens are distinct from other ergatogyne individuals in that they are morphologically consistent within a species and are always capable of mating, whereas inter caste individuals, another class of ergatogynes, often are not. Ergatoids can exhibit wide morphological differences between species, sometimes appearing almost identical to normal workers and other times being quite distinct from both workers and standard queens. In addition to morphological features, ergatoids among different species can exhibit a wide range of behaviors, with some ergatoids acting only as reproductives and others actively foraging. Ergatoid queens have developed among a large number of ant species, and their presence within colonies can often provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Blepharidatta Conops Casent0173884 Dorsal 1
''Blepharidatta'' is a rare Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus, formed by predatory species whose small ant colony, colonies nest in soil or leaf-litter, has up to seven species, but most of them are waiting for a formal Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic treatment or confirmation. Species *''Blepharidatta brasiliensis'' Wheeler, 1915 *''Blepharidatta conops'' Kempf, 1967 In 2015 two new species were described: * ''Blepharidatta delabiei'' sp. n. Brandão ''et al.'', 2015 * ''Blepharidatta fernandezi'' sp. n. Brandão ''et al.'', 2015 Distribution and habitat ''Blepharidatta'' is a strictly Neotropical group that was described by William Morton Wheeler, Wheeler (1915) from workers of ''Blepharidatta brasiliensis'' collected near Belém (State of Pará, Brazil), in the Amazon forest. Up to seven species are currently recognized, but most of them are waiting for a formal taxonomic treatment or confirmation. Based on morphological as well as behavioral data ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Blepharidatta Conops
''Blepharidatta'' is a rare Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus, formed by predatory species whose small colonies nest in soil or leaf-litter, has up to seven species, but most of them are waiting for a formal taxonomic treatment or confirmation. Species *''Blepharidatta brasiliensis'' Wheeler, 1915 *'' Blepharidatta conops'' Kempf, 1967 In 2015 two new species were described: * ''Blepharidatta delabiei'' sp. n. Brandão ''et al.'', 2015 * ''Blepharidatta fernandezi'' sp. n. Brandão ''et al.'', 2015 Distribution and habitat ''Blepharidatta'' is a strictly Neotropical group that was described by Wheeler (1915) from workers of ''Blepharidatta brasiliensis'' collected near Belém (State of Pará, Brazil), in the Amazon forest. Up to seven species are currently recognized, but most of them are waiting for a formal taxonomic treatment or confirmation. Based on morphological as well as behavioral data, only three species are formally recognized: ''B. bra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Myrmecia Esuriens
''Myrmecia esuriens'', also known as Tasmanian inchman, is a species of bulldog ant native to Tasmania. Morphology The largest size of this bull ant species is reached by the queen, about long. Males ( "drones") grow to , and the worker ants average long. Within its genus, ''M. esuriens'' is a medium-sized species, as sizes for ''Myrmecia'' range from to more than . The main body of the ant is black with a single segment of the abdomen, the postpetiole, coloured an orange-red. The mandibles, antennae, and legs of the ants are also orange-red. The hair on the ant is yellow, and is short on the head, thorax, and legs and longer on the gaster. No hair is present on the scapes. The mandibles are long and straight, and of the 11 teeth present, the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth are wider and longer than the other seven. The Tasmanian inchman has good eyesight, useful outside of the nest for defence and foraging. Unusually for ants, the queens are apterous (i.e., wingl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gamergate (ant)
A gamergate ( ) is a mated worker ant that can reproduce sexually, i.e., lay fertilized eggs that will develop as females. In the vast majority of ant species, workers are sterile and gamergates are restricted to taxa where the workers have a functional sperm reservoir ('spermatheca'). In some species, gamergates reproduce in addition to winged queens (usually upon the death of the original foundress), while in other species the queen caste has been completely replaced by gamergates. In gamergate species, all workers in a colony have similar reproductive potentials, but as a result of physical interactions, a dominance hierarchy is formed and only one or a few top-ranking workers can mate (usually with foreign males) and produce eggs. Subsequently, however, aggression is no longer needed as gamergates secrete chemical signals that inform the other workers of their reproductive status in the colony. Depending on the species, there can be one gamergate per colony ( monogyny) or sev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cardiocondyla Obscurior
''Cardiocondyla'' is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Distribution Approximately 70 species are currently recognized as belonging to this genus, most of which are distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics, but a few of which occur in the temperate zone. Some species are also found widely separated in North America and the Pacific Islands, as a result of human introduction. Description Several species of this genus have a striking male polymorphism, with both winged and wingless forms. These males differ not only in morphology, but also in reproductive tactics. Closely related genera are '' Leptothorax'', '' Stereomyrmex'' and '' Romblonella''. Outbreeding ''Cardiocondyla elegans'' worker ants transport young queen ants to alien nests to promote outbreeding. This allows avoidance of inbreeding depression. The worker ants, sisters of these queens, may transport the queens several meters from their natal nest and drop them off at another, ali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ants
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with sizeable nest that consist of millions of individuals or into the hundreds of millions in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Termite
Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied, unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants but highly Apomorphy and synapomorphy, derived cockroaches. About 2,997 extant species are currently described, 2,125 of which are members of the family Termitidae. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the Taxonomic rank#All ranks, epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (the cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate Order (biology), order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood-eating cockroaches of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Queen Ant
A queen ant (also known as a gyne) is an adult, reproducing female ant in an ant colony; she is usually the mother of all the other ants in that colony. Some female ants, such as the '' Cataglyphis'', do not need to mate to produce offspring, reproducing through asexual parthenogenesis or cloning, and all of those offspring will be female. Others, like those in the genus ''Crematogaster'', mate in a nuptial flight. Queen offspring ants among most species develop from larvae specially fed in order to become sexually mature. Depending on the species, there can be either a single mother queen, or potentially hundreds of fertile queens. Not every colony of ants has a queen. Some colonies have multiple queens. Queen ants are the only members of a colony to lay eggs. After mating, they can produce thousands, sometimes millions, of eggs during their lifetime. A queen of '' Lasius niger'' was held in captivity by German entomologist Hermann Appel for 28 years; also a ''Pogonomyrmex ow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Alate
Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures. In entomology In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form of a social insect, especially ants or termites, though it can also be applied to aphids and some thrips. Alate females are referred to as gyne The gyne (, from Greek γυνή, "woman") is the primary reproductive female caste of social insects (especially ants, wasps, and bees of order Hymenoptera, as well as termites). Gynes are those destined to become queens, whereas female workers ...s, and are typically those destined to become queens. A " dealate" is an adult insect that shed or lost its wings ("dealation"). In botany In botany, "alate" refers to wing-like structures on some seeds that use wind dispersal. It is also used to describe flattened ridges which run longitudinally on stems. References External links * Insect ec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is Cladogram#Homoplasies, homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying pterygota, insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are ''analogous'', whereas ''homology (biology), homologous'' structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions. The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different trai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
