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Megaponera
''Megaponera analis'' is the sole species of the genus ''Megaponera''. They are a strictly termite-eating (termitophagous) Ponerinae, ponerine ant species widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and most commonly known for their column-like raiding formation when attacking termite feeding sites. Their sophisticated raiding behaviour gave them the common name Matabele ant after the Northern Ndebele people, Matabele tribe, fierce warriors who overwhelmed various other tribes during the 1800s. With some individuals reaching up to in length, ''M. analis'' is one of the world's largest ants. In 2014, the specific name (zoology), specific name ''analis'', in Latin "anus-related", chosen by Latreille, replaced ''foetens'' "stinking", given by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, because Guillaume-Antoine Olivier had given the same name ''Formica foetens'' to another species in 1792. Both names allude to the fact that the mandibular gland of this ant releases dimethyl disulfide and dimet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megaponera Analis Raiding Termites
''Megaponera analis'' is the sole species of the genus ''Megaponera''. They are a strictly termite-eating (termitophagous) ponerine ant species widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and most commonly known for their column-like raiding formation when attacking termite feeding sites. Their sophisticated raiding behaviour gave them the common name Matabele ant after the Matabele tribe, fierce warriors who overwhelmed various other tribes during the 1800s. With some individuals reaching up to in length, ''M. analis'' is one of the world's largest ants. In 2014, the specific name ''analis'', in Latin "anus-related", chosen by Latreille, replaced ''foetens'' "stinking", given by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, because Guillaume-Antoine Olivier had given the same name ''Formica foetens'' to another species in 1792. Both names allude to the fact that the mandibular gland of this ant releases dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide, which smell like human faeces. Taxonomy ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Macrotermitinae
The Macrotermitinae, the fungus-growing termites, constitute a subfamily of the family Termitidae that is only found within the Old World tropics. This subfamily consists of 12 genera and about 350 species and are distinguished by the fact that they cultivate fungi inside their nests to feed the members of the colony. Despite the popular reputation of termites for breaking down and digesting wood, most termite species do not possess the capability to digest the cellulose in wood. Macrotermitinae instead use their mounds to cultivate fungus in a symbiotic relationship, similar to leaf-cutter ants (fungus-cultivating ants). Worker termites find plant debris and macerate it, chewing and moistening the material. They excrete the resulting fecal pellets inside the mound. Other worker termites use this matter to construct fungal combs. The mycelium then spreads through the comb and digests the plant material into a form that makes for nutritious food for the colony. The mounds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phrynomantis Microps
''Phrynomantis microps'' is an African frog with many interesting adaptations to the savannah. These frogs are also called the Accra snake-necked frog. They are found across Western and Central Africa. One of its distinguishing features is the peptide secretion on its skin, which goes beyond toxicity and seems to inhibit aggressive behavior like biting and stinging from large ants. This allows ''Phrynomantis microps'' to live in humid burrows within large ant nests and termite mounds, where they are frequently found. While ''Phrynomantis microps'' feeds on similar insects such as the termite ''Macrotermes bellicosus'', they have never been found to feed on the ants they share the nest with. These frogs are medium-sized and have a bright red pelvic region. Description ''Phrynomantis microps'' are a medium-sized frog that measures between 40 and 60mm as an adult. Their back as well as the pelvic region are bright red while the rest of the body is dark brown. The brightness of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponerinae
Ponerinae, the ponerine ants, is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including '' Dinoponera gigantea'' - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the functional egg-layers in several species of ponerine ants. In such queenless species, the reproductive status of workers can only be determined through ovarian dissections. Description and identification Ponerinae are most easily identified from other subfamilies by possessing a single-segmented petiole and the gaster usually being constricted between the first and second segments. ''Odontomachus'' lack this constriction, but these can be identified from their elongate, straight mandibles attached close together along the front margin of the head and with teeth only at the mandible tips. They are rare examples of stinging ants. Females have 12-segmented antennae, whereas males have 13-segmented antennae. Behavi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matabele Ants
Matabele ant refers to one of the following ant species or groups: * Certain Afrotropical '' Dorylus'' species, also known as Driver ants * ''Megaponera ''Megaponera analis'' is the sole species of the genus ''Megaponera''. They are a strictly termite-eating (termitophagous) Ponerinae, ponerine ant species widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and most commonly known for their column-like raid ... analis'', a ponerine ant species See also *'' Plectroctena'' spp., resemble ''M. analis'' but are not army ants {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the south and southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte, and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo. Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed on that area, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and dialect. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India. The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of the Portuguese Empire, Portuguese, who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese Mozambique, Portuguese rule, Mozambique Mozambican War of Indepen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandible (insect Mouthpart)
Insect mandibles are a pair of appendages near the insect's mouth, and the most anterior of the three pairs of oral appendages (the labrum is more anterior, but is a single fused structure). Their function is typically to grasp, crush, or cut the insect's food, or to defend against predators or rivals. Insect mandibles, which appear to be evolutionarily derived from legs, move in the horizontal plane unlike those of vertebrates, which appear to be derived from gill arches and move vertically. Grasshoppers, crickets, and other simple insects The mouthparts of orthopteran insects are often used as a basic example of mandibulate (chewing) mouthparts, and the mandibles themselves are likewise generalized in structure. They are large and hardened, shaped like pinchers, with cutting surfaces on the distal portion and chewing or grinding surfaces basally. They are usually lined with teeth and move sideways. Large pieces of leaves can therefore be cut and then pulverized near the mout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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] |
Ant Colony
An ant colony is a population of ants, typically from a single species, capable of maintaining their complete lifecycle. Ant colonies are eusocial, communal, and efficiently organized and are very much like those found in other social Hymenoptera, though the various groups of these developed sociality independently through convergent evolution. The typical colony consists of one or more egg-laying queens, numerous sterile females (workers, soldiers) and, seasonally, many winged sexual males and females. In order to establish new colonies, ants undertake flights that occur at species-characteristic times of the day. Swarms of the winged sexuals (known as alates) depart the nest in search of other nests. The males die shortly thereafter, along with most of the females. A small percentage of the females survive to initiate new nests. Etymology The term "ant colony" refers to a population of workers, reproductive individuals, and brood that live together, cooperate, and treat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
