Non-native Ants Are Smaller than Related Native Ants

I compare the sizes of non-native and native ants to evaluate how worker size may be related to the ability of a species to invade new habitats. I compare the size of 78 non-native ant species belonging to 26 genera with the size of native congeneric species; native ants are larger than non-native ants in 22 of 26 genera. Ants were sorted by genera into fighting and nonfighting groups, based on observations of interspecific interactions with other ant species. In all of the genera with monomorphic worker castes that fight during competition, the non-native species were smaller than the native species. The genera that engage in combat had a higher frequency of significantly smaller size in non-native ants. I selected Wasmannia auropunctata for further studies, to compare native and non-native populations. Specimens of W. auropunctata from non-native populations were smaller than conspecific counterparts from its native habitat. I consider hypotheses to explain why non-native ants are smaller in size than native ants, including the role of colony size in interspecific fights, changes in life history, the release from intraspecific fighting, and climate. The discovery that fighting non-natives are smaller than their closest native relatives may provide insight into the mechanisms for success of non-native species, as well as the role of worker size and colony size during interspecific competition.     

Magnetic Orientation in Solenopsis sp. Ants

It is known that magnetic fields affect ants behavior. It has been shown that Solenopsis ants are sensitive to magnetic fields but there is no experimental evidence for magnetic orientation. In this paper experiments were done to verify the magnetic orientation of Solenopsis sp. ants. The spontaneous orientation of ants in a circular arena was studied in two different magnetic conditions: in the natural geomagnetic field and under an altered magnetic field, with the horizontal geomagnetic axis shifted in 90?o. Our results show that ants consistently change their orientation direction when the magnetic field was altered. Axial circular statistics analysis showed that, in the absence of other cues, ants orient spontaneously to the horizontal geomagnetic field axis. The present paper shows for the first time magnetic orientation in Solenopsis sp. ants.     

Ants (Hymenoptera,Formicidae) of Kyiv

Entomological Review - Altogether, 59 ant species from 22 genera of 4 subfamilies have been recorded in Kyiv. Four of them are occasionally introduced species which occur only in premises heated in...     

河南开封地区的蚂蚁资源

蚂蚁是河南开封地区大型土壤动物的优势类群,其种群数量庞大,分布较广。通过调查获得开封地区蚂蚁的基本资料:包括5亚科,18属,43种。优势种为铺道蚁、粗面收获蚁和日本弓背蚁,且不同生境、不同地域内的蚂蚁种类和分布都有差异。     

广东省蚂蚁种类与分布

本文记录了广东省蚂蚁的种类和分布,共计8亚科,55属,160种,其中10个广东省新纪录属,59个广东省新纪录种;标本主要保存于广东省昆虫研究所蚂蚁利用与蚁害监控团队以及中山大学昆虫标本室.     

Phylogenomics Resolves Evolutionary Relationships among Ants,Bees, and Wasps

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Record Dynamics in Ants

The success of social animals (including ourselves) can be attributed to efficiencies that arise from a division of labour. Many animal societies have a communal nest which certain individuals must leave to perform external tasks, for example foraging or patrolling. Staying at home to care for young or leaving to find food is one of the most fundamental divisions of labour. It is also often a choice between safety and danger. Here we explore the regulation of departures from ant nests. We consider the extreme situation in which no one returns and show experimentally that exiting decisions seem to be governed by fluctuating record signals and ant-ant interactions. A record signal is a new ‘high water mark’ in the history of a system. An ant exiting the nest only when the record signal reaches a level it has never perceived before could be a very effective mechanism to postpone, until the last possible moment, a potentially fatal decision. We also show that record dynamics may be involved in first exits by individually tagged ants even when their nest mates are allowed to re-enter the nest. So record dynamics may play a role in allocating individuals to tasks, both in emergencies and in everyday life. The dynamics of several complex but purely physical systems are also based on record signals but this is the first time they have been experimentally shown in a biological system.     

American Social Insects. A Book about Bees, Ants, Wasps, and Termites. Charles D. Michener and Mary H. Michener

Beiträge zur Gesellungs und Völkerwissenschaft . Prof. Dr. Richard Thurnwald zu seinem achtzigsten Geburtstag gewidmet.
Chippewa Child Life and Its Cultural Background . Sister M. Inez Hilger.
The Wolf Ritual of the Northwest Coast . Alice Henson Ernst.
The Sandpaintings of the Kayenta Navaho , Leland C.
Three Navaho Households: A Comparative Study of Small Group Culture . John M. Roberts.
Falasha Anthology , translated from Ethiopic Sources with an Introduction. Wolf Leslau.
Marriage and the Family in Caucasia . Louis J. Luzbetak, S.V.D.
The Persian Language . Reuben Levy.
Race-Relations in Ancient Egypt: Greek, Egyptian, Hebrew, Roman . S. Davis.
Paleontology and Modern Biology . D. M. S. Watson.