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Odontomachus Bauri
''Odontomachus bauri'' is a species of ponerinae ant known as trap jaw ants. The trap jaw consists of mandibles which contain a spring-loaded catch mechanism. This mechanism permits the ants to accumulate energy before striking or releasing the mandibles rapidly. ''O. bauri'' is known for its powerful mandibles, which can open up to about 180° and within 10 ms of being stimulated and can close within 0.5 ms, which help with catching prey. The mandibles are able to sting and paralyze prey or crush prey to death. ''O. bauri'' also uses its mandibles to propel itself or prey off of the ground either vertically or horizontally. ''O. bauri'' can travel over 20 times their body length in a single jaw-propelled leap. ''O. bauri'' is closely related to the genus ''Anochetus'' which is in the same family, Formicidae. It has been discovered from southern Costa Rica throughout tropical South America, the West Indies (except Cuba and Bahamas), and on the Galapagos Islands. Iden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlo Emery
Carlo Emery (25 October 1848, Naples – 11 May 1925) was an Italian entomologist. He is remembered for Emery's rule, which states that insect social parasitism (biology), social parasites are often closely related to their hosts. Early in his career Carlo Emery pursued a course in general medicine, and in 1872 narrowed his interests to ophthalmology. In 1878 he was appointed Professor of Zoology at the University of Cagliari, remaining there for several years until 1881 when he took up an appointment at the University of Bologna as Professor of Zoology, remaining there for thirty-five years until his death. Emery specialised in Hymenoptera, but his early work was on Coleoptera. Prior to 1869, his earliest works were a textbook of general zoology and papers on fishes and molluscs. From 1869 to 1925 he devoted himself almost entirely to the study of ants. Emery published extensively between 1869 and 1926 describing 130 genera and 1057 species mainly in Philogène Auguste Gali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solenopsis (ant)
''Solenopsis'' is a scientific name for two genera: * ''Solenopsis'' (ant), a genus of ants comprising the fire ants and thief ants * ''Solenopsis'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants in the family Campanulaceae, commonly treated as a synonym of ''Laurentia'' or ''Isotoma'' {{Genus disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hymenoptera Of South America
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typically have a special ovipositor for inserting eggs into hosts or places that are otherwise inaccessible. This ovipositor is often modified into a stinger. The young develop through holometabolism (complete metamorphosis)—that is, they have a wormlike larval stage and an inactive pupal stage before they reach adulthood. Etymology The name Hymenoptera refers to the wings of the insects, but the original derivation is ambiguous. All references agree that the derivation involves the Ancient Greek πτερόν (''pteron'') for wing. The Ancient Greek ὑμήν (''hymen'') for membrane provides a plausible etymology for the term because species in this order have membranous wings. However, a key characteristic of this order is that the hindwing ... [...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] |
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] |
Evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. The process of evolution has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation. The scientific theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by two British naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, in the mid-19th century as an explanation for why organisms are adapted to their physical and biological environments. The theory was first set out in detail in Darwin's book ''On the Origin of Species''. Evolution by natural selection is established by observable facts about living organisms: (1) more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive; (2) phenotypic variatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DNA Sequencing
DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. The advent of rapid DNA sequencing methods has greatly accelerated biological and medical research and discovery. Knowledge of DNA sequences has become indispensable for basic biological research, Genographic Project, DNA Genographic Projects and in numerous applied fields such as medical diagnosis, biotechnology, forensic biology, virology and biological systematics. Comparing healthy and mutated DNA sequences can diagnose different diseases including various cancers, characterize antibody repertoire, and can be used to guide patient treatment. Having a quick way to sequence DNA allows for faster and more individualized medical care to be administered, and for more organisms to be identified and cataloged. The rapid advancements in DNA seque ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haidomyrmecini
Haidomyrmecinae, occasionally called hell ants, are an extinct subfamily of ants (Formicidae) known from Cretaceous fossils primarily found in amber from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, spanning the late Aptian to Campanian, around 113 to 79 million years ago. The subfamily was first proposed in 2003 but had been subsequently treated as the tribe Haidomyrmecini and placed in the extinct ant subfamily Sphecomyrminae. Reevaluation of the Haidomyrmecini in 2020 led to the elevation of the group back to the subfamily. The family contains nine genera and 13 species. Members of this family are highly distinct from all other ants, having diverse head ornamentation, and unusually shaped, extended mandibles that are articulated vertically rather than horizontally as in modern ants. The jaws in combination with the head ornamentation served to restrain prey, with most species having setae (hair-like structures) covering parts of the head, which likely functioned as triggers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmoteras
''Myrmoteras'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae and the sole member of the tribe Myrmoteratini. They have enormous eyes, a character found in other ancient genera, and extremely elongated mandibles with eight to 16 teeth. These work as trap-jaws and can open up to 270°. Description While the elongated mandibles look superficially similar to those of the basal '' Myrmecia'', the mechanism is, as a whole, totally dissimilar and is rather convergent to that of the ponerine genera ''Anochetus'' and ''Odontomachus'', and the myrmicine ''Strumigenys''. The trigger mechanism of the trap-jaw-like mandibles of ''Myrmoteras'' consists of two hairs. Other trap-jawed genera are '' Daceton'', ''Acanthognathus'', ''Orectognathus'', '' Microdaceton'', and '' Epitritus''. Distribution ''Myrmoteras'' occurs in the Indo-Malayan region.Creighton, William S. (1930): A Review of the Genus ''Myrmoteras'' (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ''Journal of the New York Entomological Society'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strumigenys
''Strumigenys'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Biology ''Strumigenys'' form small nests in soil, under or between rocks, or in and under logs or under cattle dung. Some species nest in association with other ants such as '' Bothriomyrmex mayri'' or '' Rhytidoponera metallica''. Although they are normally slow moving, they can run quickly when disturbed. ''Strumigenys xenos'' is a permanent social parasite, which forms no workers and lives in the nests of its host ''S. perplexa''. Most species specialize in the hunt of springtail Springtails (class Collembola) form the largest of the three lineages of modern Hexapoda, hexapods that are no longer considered insects. Although the three lineages are sometimes grouped together in a class called Entognatha because they have in ...s, and the others eat other soft-bodied arthropods.Australian Ants OnlineGenus ''Strumigenys''/ref> Distribution Despite having many species occurring in temperate ecosystems, the genus i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exaptation
Exaptation or co-option is a shift in the function of a trait during evolution. For example, a trait can evolve because it served one particular function, but subsequently it may come to serve another. Exaptations are common in both anatomy and behaviour. Bird feathers are a classic example. Initially they may have evolved for temperature regulation, but later were adapted for flight. When feathers were first used to aid in flight, that was an exaptive use. They have since then been shaped by natural selection to improve flight, so in their current state they are best regarded as adaptations for flight. So it is with many structures that initially took on a function as an exaptation: once molded for a new function, they become further adapted for that function. Interest in exaptation relates to both the process and products of evolution: the process that creates complex traits and the products (functions, anatomical structures, biochemicals, etc.) that may be imperfectly developed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cicada
The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into two families, the Tettigarctidae, with two species in Australia, and the Cicadidae, with more than 3,000 species Taxonomy (biology)#Taxonomic descriptions, described from around the world; many species remain Undescribed taxon, undescribed. Nearly all cicada species are annual cicadas with the exception of the few North American periodical cicada species, genus ''Magicicada'', which in a given region emerge en masse every 13 or 17 years. Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae, and membranous front wings. They have an exceptionally loud song, produced in most species by the rapid buckling and unbuckling of drum-like tymbals. The earliest known fossil Cicadomorpha appeared in the Upper Permian period; extant species occur a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
