A. Ants
With over 12, 000 described species, ants, from the family Formicidae, are the most diverse of all social insects. They occupy “virtually all major terrestrial habitats” displaying a “remarkable range of social behaviors, foraging habits and associations” with other organisms (Bolton et al, 2006; as cited in Ward, 2007).
A. 1. Ant’s social organization and feeding habits
Typically ants include three castes: winged, fertile, and females or queens; wingless, infertile females or workers; and winged male. Those ordinarily seen are workers. In some colonies ants of the worker type may become soldiers or members of other specialized castes. (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004)
Different species differ widely in their duties and may be carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous. Members of some species eat honeydew from plants infested with aphids and certain other insects; others called dairying ants, feed and protect the aphids ad “milk” them by stroking. Harvester ants eat and store seeds; these sometimes spout around the nest, leading to the erroneous belief that these ants cultivate food.
(The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004)
A. 2. Reproduction and population
Scientists from CNRS found that colonies in tropical forests tend to produce numerous, low-quality queens. In contrast, colonies in the temperate forests tend to produce less, high-quality queens. In addition, they found that if independent foundation of new colonies becomes ineffective, colonies multiply by splitting up the group. (CRNS, 2008)
The red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, is a very invasive pest in Southern U.S.A. and in all parts of the world. Scientists determined the arrival of these ants is by the unloading of cargos at the port of Mobile, Ala i...
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...e honeybees.
D. Ants as bio-indicators
In terms of numerical abundance, size and species richness, ants are a prominent group in many terrestrial ecosystems. Ants also occupy higher tropic levels and often used specialized niches; suggest that they may be good bio-indicator of various environmental parameters (Majer, 1983).
Touyama (2002) revealed that hypogeal ants were useful and convenient bio indicators of soil faunal richness, based on the data obtained in Hiroshima Prefecture. Ant species richness significantly correlated with three soil faunal variables: number of orders, degree of nature richness and abundance in lower-altitudinal area. In higher-altitudinal area, however, there were not obvious pattern between ant species’ richness and soil faunal variables. Careful use of ants as bio indicator can economize our sampling effort and time.
The inspiring documentary film, E.O. Wilson—Of Ants and Men, showcases biologist Edward Osborne Wilson’s passion for preserving the biodiversity of our natural world. E.O. Wilson not only values the fascinating creatures (particularly ants) that he comes across during his research and in his daily life, but he also takes action and participates in the Gorongosa Restoration Project at Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, Africa. The destruction of Gorongosa demonstrates the call for us—Homo sapiens—to realize how critical it is to concern ourselves with protecting the very ecosystems that have molded us into the complex species that we are; according to E.O. Wilson, “We adapted over millions of years to wild environments…We really need them” (CITE?). The better effort we make to understand that we are a part of this large, interdependent ecological community, the better equipped we become in not only being
The ants of the colony can be seen as beings who have had their “individuality and personhood” trampled because of the grasshop...
The titmouse is a small songbird that searches acrobatically for insects among foliage and branches. The tufted titmouse, also known by their scientific name of baeolophus bicolor, is a widespread species from North America. Because the species is so widespread, it can be assumed that the species is not limited by the biotic and abiotic factors that other species are limited by. The titmouse eats only insects in the summer, including caterpillars, beetles, ants, wasps, stink bugs, and treehoppers; they also eat seeds, nut, and berries. However, every population, or a group of individuals of a single species living in the same general areas, is limited by a carrying capacity, or the maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain. At one point, the biotic or abiotic factors will limit the dispersion and dispersal of the
The production of new ideas spark momentum for thought, the fabrication of machinery paves the way for innovations, and the expansion of human connection has led to new forms of participation. Historically, eras have been defined by the highlights of its period: the Stone Age allowed the development of tools while the Gold Age refined methods already produced to be more efficient in their purposes. If these are the things that define these eras, what has defined the twenty first century? In the later parts of the twentieth century, new technology like computer software ignited the world in a way never seen before. People all around the world were given access to connect with one another through the click of a button, and from there, the possibilities
Merchant, M. Insects in the City. Texas A&M Agrlife, 14 Aug. 2012. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Different types of ants have different jobs to help their colony thrive. Within most ant colonies, there are three types of ants. The queen ensures the colony keeps going producing the eggs to create more ants. The males mate with the queen so she can produce eggs. All the workers are female. They collect
Interstate migration of 75,000 persons attributed to QLD highest growth in population in 2004-05 (ABS, 2006). The population of Brisbane has shown an increase of 2.3% from November 2005 to October 2006. Therefore this population increase is of benefit to Hanndia Pest Control Services, as the population arrives many more properties will be built and rented out to accommodate the growing demand for accommodation, and the need for ongoing protection from white ant infestation.
If they spray acid into a wound or you would be in excruciating pain. There are many places where carpenter ants can live, they usually like to build their nests in moist wood or structures that were already damaged by other insects. Most of their nests are found in decaying wood like windows, chimneys, sinks, doorframes or bath traps and in hollow spaces such as wall voids. There isn’t just one type of nest they build. There are two types, parent colonies and satellite colonies. Parent colonies contain workers, numerous broods and an egg-laying queen, while satellite colonies may have workers, mature larvae and pupae. Unlike termites and beetles, carpenter ants don’t eat wood even though they may dig through but it’s just to explore and find good places to build their
Most of the species from habitat one are Diptera. There was a total of thirteen Diptera’s in habitat one. Cup one had the least amount of individual species with four. Habitat two had more individual species than habitat one. There was a total of seventy-nine species from habitat two. Like in habitat one most of of the arthropods from habitat two were Diptera. The was a total of eighteen Diptera’s in habitat two. Cup six had most of the Diptera’s with thirteen. Orthoptera was second in the number of individuals with sixteen. Orthoporea’s are crickets and
However, as mentioned before and mention in the film, when the doctor is debriefing the military and senator about what the average size ants can do, he says ants exhibit similar behaviors to humans. The doctor claimed that ants starts war, campaigns, turn their captive into slaves, and has a similar social structure to humans. This was a part of the reasons why they are a threat. The doctor, even concluded that the giant ants could be the end of man-kind. Aside from the ants being stronger and bigger than normal ants, they were still just ants.
There are nearly one million species of insects known. Insects are defined by having six legs and a body divided into three segments: head, thorax, and abdomen. Chitin is an organic material that makes up an insects exoskeleton. There are three life cycles of insects, ametabolous or incomplete and paurometabolous or gradual, and homotabolous or complete metamorphosis. These life cycles are important in the aging of insects for aiding in legal investigations, (Houck and Siegel. Entomology).
Their job is to actually make the honey. They also lay very few eggs each day that are usually drones. When the queen lays eggs, she feeds all the eggs in the hive her royal jelly for the first few days. When the colony gets too big, she will need to make a new queen bee. How she does that is she will feed this egg her royal jelly until it hatches.
Well in the spring all the males and young winged queens leave their nest and fly high in the air and mate. The few ant queens that survive this “marriage flight” cast off their wings and instinctively begin to look for a spot to start a new ant colony. After making a nest, the young queen ant seals off the entrance and begins to lay eggs. Some of the first batch are eaten by the queen for nourishment. When the surviving eggs hatch, they become like larvae. After a few weeks each larva spins a cocoon around itself and pupates.
Seventh, in some groups of insects, truly social behavior has evolved. Social behavior will allow a large population to survive through difficult periods via cooperation in food gathering, food storage, temperature control, and colony