|
Honeydew (secretion)
Honeydew is a sugar-rich sticky liquid, secreted by aphids, some scale insects, and many other true bugs and some other insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the anus of the insects, allowing them to rapidly process the large volume of sap required to extract essential nutrients present at low concentrations. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in hemipteran insects and is often the basis for trophobiosis. Some caterpillars of Lycaenidae butterflies and some moths also produce honeydew. In addition to various sugars, honeydew contains small amounts of amino acids, other organic compounds, and inorganic Salt (chemistry), salts with its precise makeup affected by factors such as insect species, host plant species, and whether a symbiotic organism is present. Honeydew-producing insects, like cicadas, pierce phloem ducts to access the sugar rich sap; the excess fluid released by ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ant Receives Honeydew From Aphid
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, 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) Antenna (biology), antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form Ant colony, colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small Nature, 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 Ant supercolony, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salt (chemistry)
In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions ( cations) and negatively charged ions ( anions), which results in a compound with no net electric charge (electrically neutral). The constituent ions are held together by electrostatic forces termed ionic bonds. The component ions in a salt can be either inorganic, such as chloride (Cl−), or organic, such as acetate (). Each ion can be either monatomic, such as sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) in sodium chloride, or polyatomic, such as ammonium () and carbonate () ions in ammonium carbonate. Salts containing basic ions hydroxide (OH−) or oxide (O2−) are classified as bases, such as sodium hydroxide and potassium oxide. Individual ions within a salt usually have multiple near neighbours, so they are not considered to be part of molecules, but instead part of a continuous three-dimensional network. Salts usually form crystalline structures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honey Bee
A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmopolitan distribution of honey bees, introducing multiple subspecies into South America (early 16th century), North America (early 17th century), and Australia (early 19th century). Honey bees are known for their construction of perennial colonial nests from wax, the large size of their colonies, and surplus production and storage of honey, distinguishing their hives as a prized foraging target of many animals, including honey badgers, bears and human hunter-gatherers. Only 8 surviving species of honey bees are recognized, with a total of 43 subspecies, though historically 7 to 11 species are recognized. Honey bees represent only a small fraction of the roughly 20,000 known species of bees. The best-known honey bee is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stingless Bee
Stingless bees (SB), sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (from about 462 to 552 described species), comprising the Tribe (biology), tribe Meliponini (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors). They belong in the Family (biology), family Apidae (subfamily Apinae), and are closely related to common honey bees (HB, tribe Apini), orchid bees (tribe Euglossini), and bumblebees (tribe Bombini). These four bee tribes belong to the Pollen basket, corbiculate bees Monophyly, monophyletic group. Meliponines have stingers, but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for defense, though these bees exhibit other defensive behaviors and mechanisms. Meliponines are not the only type of bee incapable of stinging: all male bees and many female bees of several other families, such as Andrenidae and Megachilidae (tribe Dioxyini), also cannot sting. Some stingless bees have powerful mandibles and can inflict painful bites. Some species ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey. The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an oviposit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ergot
Ergot ( ) or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus ''Claviceps''. The most prominent member of this group is '' Claviceps purpurea'' ("rye ergot fungus"). This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its fruiting structure (called ''ergot sclerotium''). ''Claviceps'' includes about 50 known species, mostly in the tropical regions. Economically significant species include ''C. purpurea'' (parasitic on grasses and cereals), ''C. fusiformis'' (on pearl millet, buffel grass), '' C. paspali'' (on dallis grass), ''C. africana'' (on sorghum) and ''C. lutea'' (on paspalum). ''C. purpurea'' most commonly affects outcrossing species such as rye (its most common host), as well as triticale, wheat and barley. It affects oats only rarely. ''C. purpurea'' has at least three races or varieties, which differ in their host specificity: *G1 – land grasses of op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ornamental Plant
Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that improve on the original species in qualities such as color, shape, scent, and long-lasting blooms. There are many examples of fine ornamental plants that can provide height, privacy, and beauty for any garden. These ornamental perennial plants have seeds that allow them to reproduce. One of the beauties of ornamental grasses is that they are very versatile and low maintenance. Almost all types of plant have ornamental varieties: trees, shrubs, climbers, grasses, succulents, aquatic plants, herbaceous perennials and annual plants. Non-botanical classifications include houseplants, bedding plants, hedges, plants for cut flowers and ''foliage plants''. The cultivation of ornamental plants comes under floriculture and tree nurseries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sooty Mold
Sooty mold (also spelled sooty mould) is a collective term for different Ascomycete fungi, which includes many genera, commonly ''Cladosporium'' and ''Alternaria''. It grows on plants and their fruit, but also environmental objects, like fences, garden furniture, stones, and even cars. The mold benefits from either a sugary exudate produced by the plant or fruit, or honeydew (secretion), honeydew-secreting insects or sap suckers the plant may be infested by. Sooty mold itself does little if any harm to the plant. Treatment is indicated when the mold is combined with an insect infestation. Description Sooty mold is a collective, self-descriptive term for a number of different fungi; it is a black, powdery coating adhering to plants and their fruit or environmental objects. Biology The ecology of the different species, their interactions, relationship to the host are little understood. A chance observation of a ''Microcyclospora tardicrescens'' inhibiting the growth of the fruit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flatidae
Flatidae are a family of fulgoroid planthoppers. They are Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan in distribution and are distinguished from others in the superfamily by a combination of characters. Like all other planthoppers, they suck phloem sap of plants. Some species are known to communicate with vibrations through the plant stems. Communication may be with mates, or with ants that tend the nymphs, protecting them and gathering Honeydew (secretion), honeydew secretions. Adults of some species have brightly coloured forewings which are tougher and known as Tegmen, tegmina unlike the membranous hindwings which are used for flight. Although a few can be identified by their coloration, most species requires dissection and examination under a microscope with access to literature on already described species. There are two subfamilies within the family. In the subfamily Flatinae, the body of adults is flattened laterally and the tegmina are tent-like. In the Flatoidinae, the bod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lygodactylus
''Lygodactylus'' is a genus of Diurnality, diurnal geckos with 82 species. They are commonly referred to as dwarf geckos. They are mainly found in Africa and Madagascar although two species are found in South America. ''Lygodactylus picturatus'', the best known species, is found in Kenya and commonly known as the white-headed dwarf gecko. Recently, illegal importation from Tanzania of brightly colored (and Lygodactylus williamsi, critically-endangered), ''Lygodactylus williamsi,'' known as electric blue geckos, has been gaining attention for ''Lygodactylus'' geckos in the reptile trade. Since all trade in wild-caught ''Lygodactylus williamsi'' is illegal, shipments of these geckos are often intentionally mislabelled as ''Lygodactylus'' spp. or as ''Lygodactylus capensis''. As some customs officials have difficulty identifying members of this genus, ''Lygodactylus'' spp. identification guidehas been published online by CITES. Species Species in alphabetical order by Specific nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phelsuma
''Phelsuma'' is a large genus of geckos in the Family (biology), family Gekkonidae. Species in the genus ''Phelsuma'' are commonly referred to as day geckos. Some day geckos are seriously endangered and some are common, but all ''Phelsuma'' species are CITES Appendix II listed. Little is known about trade in day geckos, but the IUCN considers it a threat to some species. Some species are captive-bred. Taxonomy The genus itself is thought to have originated anywhere between the Late Cretaceous to the mid-Eocene (43 to 75 mya), as that is when its lineage is known to have diverged from the one containing the Namaqua Day Gecko, Namaqua day gecko (''Rhoptropella''), although it is unknown how closely related both genera are. The crown group containing all recent species is thought to have originated in the early Oligocene, about 30 million years ago, with the most basal of them being the isolated Andaman day gecko (''P. andamanensis''), which diverged from all other species shortly a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmecophily
thumb , Myrmecophilous aphids being tended by ants Myrmecophily ( , ) consists of positive, mutualistic, interspecies associations between ants and a variety of other organisms, such as plants, other arthropods, and fungi. It may also include commensal or even parasitic interactions. A "myrmecophile" is an animal that associates with ants. An estimated 10,000 species of ants (Formicidae) are known, with a higher diversity in the tropics. In most terrestrial ecosystems, ants are ecologically and numerically dominant, being the main invertebrate predators. As a result, ants play a key role in controlling arthropod richness, abundance, and community structure. Some evidence shows that the evolution of myrmecophilous interactions has contributed to the abundance and ecological success of ants, by ensuring a dependable and energy-rich food supply, thus providing a competitive advantage for ants over other invertebrate predators. Most myrmecophilous associations are opportunistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
