Trophallaxis
Trophallaxis () is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth ( stomodeal) or anus-to-mouth ( proctodeal) feeding. Along with nutrients, trophallaxis can involve the transfer of molecules such as pheromones, organisms such as symbionts, and information to serve as a form of communication. Trophallaxis is used by some birds, gray wolves, vampire bats, and is most highly developed in social insects such as ants, wasps, bees, and termites. Etymology Tropho- (prefix or suffix) is derived from the Greek trophé, meaning 'nourishment'. The Greek 'allaxis' means 'exchange'. The word was introduced by the entomologist William Morton Wheeler in 1918. Evolutionary significance Trophallaxis was used in the past to support theories on the origin of sociality in insects. The Swiss psychologist and entomologist Auguste Forel also believed that food sharing was key to ant society and he used an illustration of it as the frontispiece for his ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Western Honey Bee
The western honey bee or European honey bee (''Apis mellifera'') is the most common of the 7–12 species of honey bees worldwide. The genus name ''Apis'' is Latin for "bee", and ''mellifera'' is the Latin for "honey-bearing" or "honey carrying", referring to the species' production of honey. Like all honey bee species, the western honey bee is Eusociality, eusocial, creating Beehive, colonies with a single fertile female (or "Queen bee, queen"), many normally non-reproductive females or "workers", and a small proportion of fertile males or "Drone (bee), drones". Individual colonies can house tens of thousands of bees. Colony activities are organized by Bee learning and communication, complex communication between individuals, through both pheromones and the Bee learning and communication#Dance communication, dance language. The western honey bee was one of the first Domestication, domesticated insects, and it is the primary species maintained by beekeepers to this day for both i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (along with cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate 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 the genus '' Cryptocercus''. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the Jurassic or Triassic. More recent estimates suggest that they have an origin during the Late Jurassic, with the first fossil records in the Early Cretaceous. About 3,106 species are currently described, with a few hundred more left to be described. Although these insects are often called "white ants", they are not ants, and are not closely related to ants. Like ants and some ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Megalopta Genalis
''Megalopta genalis'' is a species of the family Halictidae, otherwise known as the sweat bee (other), sweat bees. The bee is native to Central America, Central and South America.Greiner, B., et al. (2004)Neural organisation in the first optic ganglion of the nocturnal bee ''Megalopta genalis''.''Cell and Tissue Research'' 318(2), 429-37. Its eyes have anatomical adaptations that make them 27 times more sensitive to light than diurnal bees, giving it the ability to be nocturnal. However, its eyes are not completely different from other diurnal bees, but are still apposition compound eyes. The difference therefore lies purely in adaptations to become nocturnal, increasing the success of foraging and minimizing the danger of doing so from predation. This species has served as a model organism in studies of social animal, social behavior and night vision in bees. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''Megalopta genalis'' is a sweat bee of the family Halictidae. The term "sweat bee" ref ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Belonogaster Petiolata
''Belonogaster petiolata'' is a species of primitively eusocial wasp that dwells in southern Africa, in temperate or subhumid climate zones. This wasp species has a strong presence in South Africa and has also been seen in northern Johannesburg. Many colonies can be found in caves. The Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa, for example, contain large populations of ''B. petiolata''.Keeping, Malcolm G. "Social Behavior and Brood Decline in Reproductive-phase Colonies Of ''Belonogaster Petiolata'' (Degeer) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)." Journal of Insect Behavior 10.2 (1997): 265-78. Web. 20 Sept. 2014. This species primarily eats small insects, especially caterpillars, which are considered its "solid food", while nectar is its liquid food. It also requires water for survival.Keeping, Malcolm G. "Social Organization and Division of Labour in Colonies of the Polistine Wasp, ''Belonogaster Petiolata''." Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 31.3 (1992): n. pag. Web. 20 Sept. 2014. Taxonomy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lasioglossum Hemichalceum
''Lasioglossum hemichalceum'', which has sometimes been confused with '' L. erythrurum,'' is a sweat bee endemic to Australia. Large numbers of unrelated females will typically share a single nest, a behavior referred to as "communal". Nests are constructed underground by the independent efforts of the females. ''L. hemichalceum'' will typically begin creating new colonies during the summer, with brood production from late November through the first few months of spring. Members of this species do not demonstrate aggressive behavior towards one another. As the size of the colony increases, the reproductive potential of each female does not change, unlike many species of bees. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''Lasioglossum hemichalceum'' is part of the genus '' Lasioglossum, subgenus ''Chilalictus''.'' Other species within this genus include '' Lasioglossum malachurum'', '' Lasioglossum zephyrus'' and '' Lasioglossum clarum''. ''Lasioglossum'' species which occupy parts of Africa and cent ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carpenter Ant
Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are large () ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, damp wood. However, unlike termites, they do not consume wood, discarding a material that resembles sawdust outside their nest. Sometimes, carpenter ants hollow out sections of trees. They also commonly infest wooden buildings and structures, and are a widespread problem and major cause of structural damage. Nevertheless, their ability to excavate wood helps in forest decomposition. The genus includes over 1,000 species. They also farm aphids. In their farming, the ants protect the aphids from predators (usually other insects) while they excrete a sugary fluid called honeydew, which the ants get by stroking the aphids with their antennae. Description ''Camponotus'' are generally large ants, with workers being 4-7 mm long in small species or 7-13 mm in large s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Endosymbionts
An ''endosymbiont'' or ''endobiont'' is any organism that lives within the body or cells of another organism most often, though not always, in a mutualistic relationship. (The term endosymbiosis is from the Greek: ἔνδον ''endon'' "within", σύν ''syn'' "together" and βίωσις ''biosis'' "living".) Examples are nitrogen-fixing bacteria (called rhizobia), which live in the root nodules of legumes, single-cell algae inside reef-building corals and bacterial endosymbionts that provide essential nutrients to insects. There are two types of symbiont transmissions. In horizontal transmission, each new generation acquires free living symbionts from the environment. An example is the nitrogen-fixing bacteria in certain plant roots. Vertical transmission takes place when the symbiont is transferred directly from parent to offspring. It is also possible for both to be involved in a mixed-mode transmission, where symbionts are transferred vertically for some generation before a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Xylocopa Pubescens
''Xylocopa pubescens'' is a species of large carpenter bee. Females form nests by excavation with their mandibles, often in dead or soft wood. ''X. pubescens'' is commonly found in areas extending from India to Northeast and West Africa. It must reside in these warm climates because it requires a minimum ambient temperature of 18 degrees Celsius in order to forage. A common area of study in ''X. pubescens'' is its dominance hierarchy and guarding behavior. Colonies start and end with female takeover, either by daughters of the dominant female or by foreign intruders. There is only one reproductively active female in a colony at a time who suppresses the reproduction of other females in the nest. Males hold individual territories which females enter to mate. When an intruder enters another male's territory, the male responds aggressively. ''X. pubescens'' is polylectic, so it forages on many species of plants. It forages on some plants for nectar when preparing bee bread during ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Protopolybia Exigua
''Protopolybia exigua'' is a species of vespid wasp found in South America and Southern Brazil. These neotropical wasps, of the tribe Epiponini, form large colonies with multiple queens per colony. ''P. exigua'' are small wasps that find nourishment from nectar and prey on arthropods. Their nests are disc-shaped and hang from the undersides of leaves and tree branches. This particular species of wasp can be hard to study because they frequently abandon their nests. ''P. exigua'' continuously seek refuge from phorid fly attacks and thus often flee infested nests to build new ones. The wasps' most common predators are ants and the parasitoid phorid flies from the Phoridae family. Taxonomy and phylogeny The Epiponini belong to the swarm-founding wasp subfamily Polistinae. Epiponini are neotropical swarm-founding wasps characterized by large, multiple-queen colonies. The ''Protopolybia ''genus consists of small paper wasps. Ducke (1905) morphologically separated ''Protopolybia'' fro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bee Learning And Communication
Bee learning and communication includes cognitive and sensory processes in all kinds of bees, that is the insects in the seven families making up the clade Anthophila. Some species have been studied more extensively than others, in particular ''Apis mellifera'', or European honey bee. Color learning has also been studied in bumblebees. Honey bees are sensitive to odors (including pheromones), tastes, and colors, including ultraviolet. They can demonstrate capabilities such as color discrimination through classical and operant conditioning and retain this information for several days at least; they communicate the location and nature of sources of food; they adjust their foraging to the times at which food is available; they may even form cognitive maps of their surroundings. They also communicate with each other by means of a "waggle dance" and in other ways. Learning Honey bees are adept at associative learning, and many of the phenomena of operant and classical conditionin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SSL12022p
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol designed to provide communications security over a computer network. The protocol is widely used in applications such as email, instant messaging, and voice over IP, but its use in securing HTTPS remains the most publicly visible. The TLS protocol aims primarily to provide security, including privacy (confidentiality), integrity, and authenticity through the use of cryptography, such as the use of certificates, between two or more communicating computer applications. It runs in the presentation layer and is itself composed of two layers: the TLS record and the TLS handshake protocols. The closely related Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) is a communications protocol providing security to datagram-based applications. In technical writing you often you will see references to (D)TLS when it applies to both versions. TLS is a proposed Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard, first defined in 1999, and the c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |