Age-Related Changes in Biogenic Amines in Individual Brains of the Ant Pheidole Dentata
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The Ants of Oklahoma Master of Science
THE ANTS OF OKLAHOMA By Jerry H. Young(I\" Bachelor of Science Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College Stillwater, Oklahoma 1955 Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE January 1 1956 tl<lAWMA AGCMCl«.f�Al L �Ci'!AlttCAl e&U.Ull LIBRARY JUL16195 6 THE ANTS OF OKLAHOMA Thesis Approved: Thesis Adviser }>JcMem��f � 't'" he Thesis ) Committee Member of the Thesis Committee 7'4'.��Member of the Thesis Committee Head of the Department ifean of the Graduate School 361565 ii PREFACE The study of the distribution of ants in the United States has been a long and continuous process with many contributors, but the State of Oklahoma has not received the attentions of these observers to any great extent. The only known list of ants of Oklahoma is one prepared by Mo Ro Smith (1935)0 Early in 1954 a survey of the state of Oklahoma was made to determine the species present and their distributiono The results of this survey, which blanketed the entire State, are given in this paper. The author wishes to express his appreciation to Dro Do E. Howell, chairman of the writer's thesis committee, for his valuable assistance and careful guidance in the preparation of this papero Also, much guidance on preparation of this manuscrip_t was received from Drs. Do Eo Bryan, William H. Irwin and F. A. Fenton. Many of the determin ations were made by M. R. Smith.. Vital infonnation was obtained from the museums at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College and the University of Oklahoma. -
March-April 2003
FOCUS ON RESEARCH E.O. Wilson’s view of life takes in all things small and great. by JOHN S. ROSENBERG ormal retirement hasn’t slowed E.O. Wilson down at all. Since assuming emeritus status as Pellegrino University Research Professor in 1997, Wilson— the father of sociobiology and biophilia, the most acute student of ants among contemporary scholars, perhaps the foremost scientific spokesman for the im- portance of biodiversity—has, if anything, stepped up the pace of his research and writing and of his advocacy for conservation, toward which his science Fhas impelled him. Last year, he published The Future of Life, the most accessible and impassioned of his appeals to humans to take heed of the millions of other species that make the planet habitable. This March, Harvard University Press delivers Pheidole in the New World, Wil- son’s enormous monograph on the “hyperdiverse” ant genus he has scrutinized for decades. The latter work is, first, a labor of love: Wilson took 16 years to complete it as an after-hours “hobby” at home, drawing all 5,000-plus illustrations himself. In schol- arly terms, it bridges the established science of biological systematics and its emerging future: a CD accompanies the printed book, and work underway at the Museum of Comparative Zoology and elsewhere assures that such painstaking research will henceforth be refined and accelerated using digital imaging and genomics techniques, and then promptly disseminated to users worldwide by the Internet. Further, the finished book makes a compelling case in Wilson’s larger argument about the daz- zling, barely understood, complexity of life: of the 624 known Pheidole species in the Western Hemisphere described here, he says, 337 are new to science. -
(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for the Control of Salvinia
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2011 Introduction and Establishment of Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for the Control of Salvinia minima Baker (Salviniaceae), and Interspecies Interactions Possibly Limiting Successful Control in Louisiana Katherine A. Parys Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Parys, Katherine A., "Introduction and Establishment of Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder and Sands (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for the Control of Salvinia minima Baker (Salviniaceae), and Interspecies Interactions Possibly Limiting Successful Control in Louisiana" (2011). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1565. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1565 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. INTRODUCTION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF CYRTOBAGOUS SALVINIAE CALDER AND SANDS (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) FOR THE CONTROL OF SALVINIA MINIMA BAKER (SALVINIACEAE), AND INTERSPECIES INTERACTIONS POSSIBLY LIMITING SUCCESSFUL CONTROL IN LOUISIANA. A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Entomology By Katherine A. Parys B.A., University of Rhode Island, 2002 M.S., Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 2004 December 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In pursing this Ph.D. I owe many thanks to many people who have supported me throughout this endeavor. -
Manipulating Tropical Fire Ants to Reduce the Coffee Berry Borer
Ecological Entomology (2014), DOI: 10.1111/een.12139 Manipulating tropical fire ants to reduce the coffee berry borer WARING TRIBLE1 and R O N C A R R O L L 2 1The Rockefeller University, New York , New York, U.S.A. and 2Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, U.S.A. Abstract. 1. The coffee berry borer Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera, Curculion- idae) (Ferrari) is the most important pest of coffee production worldwide. 2. The hypothesis that the tropical !re ant, Solenopsis geminata Westwood, indirectly protects the coffee berry borer by suppressing other ant species that are the coffee berry borer’s primary predators was tested. 3. It was found that removing S. geminata from coffee plots signi!cantly increased the disappearance of adult coffee berry borer beetles from coffee berries compared with control plots. An average of 6% of beetles disappeared from plots with S. geminata whereas 23% of beetles disappeared from plots from which S. geminata was removed. This pattern was observed on two shade coffee farms with marked differences in ant species composition, one in the rainforest in central Costa Rica and one in the cloudforest in northwest Costa Rica. 4. If the results of this small-scale study can be replicated on the farm level, then S. geminata suppression may represent a new management technique for the coffee berry borer throughout Central and South America. Key words. Biological control, coffee berry borer, !re ant, Formicidae, Hypothenemus hampei, Solenopsis. Introduction coffee berries in the soil, and soil-dwelling ants may thus play an important role in reducing dry season coffee berry borer Coffee is the second most important commodity in the world by populations and minimising future outbreaks (Armbrecht & value, and the coffee berry borer is a beetle that constitutes the Gallego, 2007; Jaramillo et al.,2007;Chapmanet al.,2009; most important pest in coffee production worldwide (Damon, Vélez et al., 2006). -
Thievery in Rainforest Fungus-Growing Ants: Interspecific Assault on Culturing Material at Nest Entrance
Insectes Sociaux (2018) 65:507–510 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-018-0632-9 Insectes Sociaux SHORT COMMUNICATION Thievery in rainforest fungus-growing ants: interspecific assault on culturing material at nest entrance M. U. V. Ronque1 · G. H. Migliorini2 · P. S. Oliveira3 Received: 15 March 2018 / Revised: 21 May 2018 / Accepted: 22 May 2018 / Published online: 5 June 2018 © International Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI) 2018 Abstract Cleptobiosis in social insects refers to a relationship in which members of a species rob food resources, or other valuable items, from members of the same or a different species. Here, we report and document in field videos the first case of clepto- biosis in fungus-growing ants (Atta group) from a coastal, Brazilian Atlantic rainforest. Workers of Mycetarotes parallelus roam near the nest and foraging paths of Mycetophylax morschi and attack loaded returning foragers of M. morschi, from which they rob cultivating material for the fungus garden. Typically, a robbing Mycetarotes stops a loaded returning Myce- tophylax, vigorously pulls away the fecal item from the forager’s mandibles, and brings the robbed item to its nearby nest. In our observations, all robbed items consisted of arthropod feces, the most common culturing material used by M. parallelus. Robbing behavior is considered a form of interference action to obtain essential resources needed by ant colonies to cultivate the symbiont fungus. Cleptobiosis between fungus-growing ants may increase colony contamination, affect foraging and intracolonial behavior, as well as associated microbiota, with possible effects on the symbiont fungus. The long-term effects of this unusual behavior, and associated costs and benefits for the species involved, clearly deserve further investigation. -
Nest Defense and Conspecific Enemy Recognition in the Desert
P1: JRX Journal of Insect Behavior [joib] pp1033-joir-474318 November 6, 2003 13:37 Style file version Feb 08, 2000 Journal of Insect Behavior, Vol. 16, No. 5, September 2003 (C 2003) Nest Defense and Conspecific Enemy Recognition in the Desert Ant Cataglyphis fortis Markus Knaden1 and Rudiger¨ Wehner1,2 Accepted July 16, 2003; revised August 12, 2003 This study focuses on different factors affecting the level of aggression in the desert ant Cataglyphis fortis. We found that the readiness to fight against conspecific ants was high in ants captured close to the nest entrance (0- and 1-m distances). At a 5-m distance from the nest entrance the level of aggression was significantly lower. As the mean foraging range in desert ants by far exceeds this distance, the present account clearly shows that in C. fortis aggressive behavior is displayed in the context of nest, rather than food-territory defense. In addition, ants were more aggressive against members of a colony with which they had recently exchanged aggressive encounters than against members of a yet unknown colony. This finding is discussed in terms of a learned, enemy- specific label-template recognition process. KEY WORDS: aggression; Cataglyphis; “dear-enemy” phenomenon; enemy recognition; territoriality. INTRODUCTION The desert ant Cataglyphis fortis (Wehner, 1983) is the only species of ants inhabiting the vast plains of the North African salt pans. The colonies of this medium-sized monomorphic Cataglyphis species (body length, 5.5– 9.6 mm; head width, 1.1–2.4 mm; [Wehner, 1983; Dillier, 1998]) comprise only about 50 foragers, which search individually for dead arthropods (Wehner, 1983, 1987). -
The Fungus-Growing Ant Genus Apterostigma in Dominican Amber, Pp
Schultz, T. R. 2007. The fungus-growing ant genus Apterostigma in Dominican amber, pp. 425- 436. In Snelling, R. R., B. L. Fisher, and P. S. Ward (eds). Advances in ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): homage to E. O. Wilson – 50 years of contributions. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 80. THE FUNGUS-GROWING ANT GENUS APTEROSTIGMA IN DOMINICAN AMBER Ted R. Schultz Department of Entomology, MRC 188, P.O. Box 37012 National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington, DC 20013-7012, U.S.A. [email protected] ABSTRACT The first fossil species of the fungus-growing ant genus Apterostigma (Myrmicinae: Attini) are described from Dominican amber. Two new species are described, and the likely placement of each within the genus is discussed. The phylogenetic position of Apterostigma within the Attini is summarized, as is the evolutionary history of the transition from the cultivation of leucocoprineaceous fungi (the ancestral condition) to the cultivation of pterulaceous fungi (the derived condition) by different lineages of Apterostigma species. I conclude by speculating on the possible implications of the fossil species for understanding this transition, which is unique within the fungus-growing ants. Key words: Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Attini, Apterostigma, fungus-growing ants, fossils, Dominican amber. 426 Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Volume 80 INTRODUCTION Fungus-growing ants in the tribe Attini are one of only a few animal groups that practice true agriculture. Because, so far as is known, this fungicultural life-history strategy is entirely unique in ants and, because it parallels human agriculture in many remarkable ways (Schultz et al., 2005), the origin and evolution of the fungus-growing behavior has been the subject of recent intensive study (e.g., Chapela et al., 1994; Hinkle et al., 1994; Schultz & Meier, 1995; Wetterer et al., 1998; Mueller et al., 1998; Mueller et al., 2001). -
Evolution of Colony Characteristics in the Harvester Ant Genus
Evolution of Colony Characteristics in The Harvester Ant Genus Pogonomyrmex Dissertation zur Erlangung des naturwissenschaftlichen Doktorgrades der Bayerischen Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg vorgelegt von Christoph Strehl Nürnberg Würzburg 2005 - 2 - - 3 - Eingereicht am: ......................................................................................................... Mitglieder der Prüfungskommission: Vorsitzender: ............................................................................................................. Gutachter : ................................................................................................................. Gutachter : ................................................................................................................. Tag des Promotionskolloquiums: .............................................................................. Doktorurkunde ausgehändigt am: ............................................................................. - 4 - - 5 - 1. Index 1. Index................................................................................................................. 5 2. General Introduction and Thesis Outline....................................................... 7 1.1 The characteristics of an ant colony...................................................... 8 1.2 Relatedness as a major component driving the evolution of colony characteristics.................................................................................................10 1.3 The evolution -
Bigheaded Ant, Pheidole Megacephala (Fabricius) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae)1 John Warner and Rudolf H
EENY-369 Bigheaded Ant, Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae)1 John Warner and Rudolf H. Scheffrahn2 Introduction The bigheaded ant (BHA), Pheidole megacephala (Fabri- cius), is a very successful invasive species that is sometimes considered a danger to native ants and has been nominated as among 100 of the “World’s Worst” invaders (Hoffman 2006). The BHA has been a pest in southern Florida for many years, and according to reports by pest control operators, has become the most pervasive nuisance as it has replaced other ants such as the red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta Buren, and the white-footed ant Tech- nomyrmex difficilis (Fr. Smith) in most areas. It is possible that the increase in BHA infestations was augmented by several years of excessive hurricane activity (2003 to 2005) Figure 1. Bigheaded ant, Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius), foraging tubes on a palm tree. Arrows indicate two of the foraging tubes. in Florida that damaged lawns and killed trees, which Credits: R. H. Scheffrahn, UF/IFAS necessitated the use of increased amounts of sod and other The BHA, a soil-nesting ant, is sometimes confused with replacement vegetation that may have been infested with subterranean termites because it may create debris-covered this ant (Warner, unpublished observation). In addition, it foraging tubes that are somewhat similar, albeit much more is thought that the BHA usually out-competes most other fragile, than termite tubes. More often these ants leave piles established ants, thereby dominating new areas. The BHA of loose sandy soil. Homeowners are annoyed by these “dirt does not sting or cause any structural damage and usually piles” and by ants foraging in bathrooms and kitchens and does not bite unless the nest is disturbed, and even then, around doors and windows, as well as on exterior paved or the bite is not painful. -
The Coexistence
Myrmecological News 13 37-55 2009, Online Earlier Natural history and phylogeny of the fungus-farming ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini) Natasha J. MEHDIABADI & Ted R. SCHULTZ Abstract Ants of the tribe Attini comprise a monophyletic group of approximately 230 described and many more undescribed species that obligately depend on the cultivation of fungus for food. In return, the ants nourish, protect, and disperse their fungal cultivars. Although all members of this tribe cultivate fungi, attine ants are surprisingly heterogeneous with regard to symbiont associations and agricultural system, colony size and social structure, nesting behavior, and mating system. This variation is a key reason that the Attini have become a model system for understanding the evolution of complex symbioses. Here, we review the natural-history traits of fungus-growing ants in the context of a recently published phylo- geny, collating patterns of evolution and symbiotic coadaptation in a variety of colony and fungus-gardening traits in a number of major lineages. We discuss the implications of these patterns and suggest future research directions. Key words: Hymenoptera, Formicidae, fungus-growing ants, leafcutter ants, colony life, natural history, evolution, mating, agriculture, review. Myrmecol. News 13: 37-55 (online xxx 2008) ISSN 1994-4136 (print), ISSN 1997-3500 (online) Received 12 June 2009; revision received 24 September 2009; accepted 28 September 2009 Dr. Natasha J. Mehdiabadi* (contact author) & Dr. Ted R. Schultz* (contact author), Department of Entomology and Laboratories of Analytical Biology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, NHB, CE518, MRC 188, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA. E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] * Both authors contributed equally to the work. -
Age-Related Changes in the Number and Structure of Synapses in the Lip Region of the Mushroom Bodies in the Ant Pheidole Dentata
THE JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY 488:269–277 (2005) Age-Related Changes in the Number and Structure of Synapses in the Lip Region of the Mushroom Bodies in the Ant Pheidole dentata MARC A. SEID,* KRISTEN M. HARRIS, AND JAMES F.A. TRANIELLO Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215 ABSTRACT Behavioral development in the worker caste of many adult ants follows a pattern of task transitions that contribute to the division of labor within colonies. In the ant Pheidole dentata, the number of tasks that minor workers attend to increases as they progress from brood-care activities within the nest to acts outside the nest such as foraging and defense. In this study we investigated synapse maturation in the lip region of mushroom bodies in young and old minor workers because of its potentially crucial role in behavioral development, task performance, and repertoire expansion. As minor workers aged, individual presynaptic boutons enlarged and acquired more synapses and vesicles, but the total number of synapses in the lip region did not change significantly. Glial cell processes occupied less of the synaptic neuropil as ants matured. These findings indicate an expansion and enhancement of efficacy at specific sets of synaptic connections between the projection interneurons and Kenyon cell dendrites and a commensurate loss of other connections as minor workers age and expand their behavioral repertoire. J. Comp. Neurol. 488:269–277, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Indexing terms: synaptic plasticity; synapse; insect brain; Formicidae, division of labor; bouton Both experience- and age-related neural changes are (temporal polyethism) in which newly eclosed adult work- known to accompany behavioral development in verte- ers care for brood within the nest and progress, without brates and invertebrates (Kolb and Whishaw, 1998; Farris task overlap, to foraging and other acts outside the nest et al., 2001). -
Ants with a Parasitoid Wasp of the Genus Orasema Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) in Brazil
Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 64(2):e20200005, 2020 www.rbentomologia.com A species-level association in Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) ants with a parasitoid wasp of the genus Orasema Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) in Brazil T.S.R. SILVA.1* , A. CASADEI-FERREIRA.1 1Universidade Federal Do Paraná, Departamento de Zoologia, Curitiba, PR, Brasil. ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Eucharitid wasps are exclusive parasitoids of ants and certain groups of eucharitids have specific associations Received 10 January 2020 with their hosts. This type of specificity is widely documented in more inclusive groups (subfamilies and/or Accepted 04 April 2020 genus-groups). However, we do not know if this specificity occurs in less inclusive groups (such as species or Available online 15 May 2020 populations) or if it is more strongly influenced by local and/or regional environmental constraints. We provide Associate Editor: Jeffrey Sosa-Calvo a new association record between Pheidole gibba Mayr, 1887 and Orasema chunpi Burks, Heraty & Dominguez, 2018, while expanding their known distribution to the Brazilian state of Bahia. Keywords: ant-parasitoid interaction host-parasitoid association chalcidoid wasps Myrmicinae is the most speciose and widespread subfamily of ants; belonging to this genus are known parasitoids of Myrmicinae ants, they comprehend circa 7000 described species (Bolton, 2020) - almost with unverified records in Dorylinae and Formicinae (Heraty, 2002; 50% of the total number of species for the family - occurring in almost Lachaud and Pérez-Lachaud, 2012). all geographic regions in the globe (Baccaro et al., 2015). Members In the initial stages of their life-cycles Orasema species have of the subfamily have a wide range of strategies for reproduction, associations with plants, which serve as oviposition sites.