Been working on some outworlds (foraging areas) for some Pogonomyrmex ants. Made with a high heel shoe box, some custom 3D printed fittings, Ultracal 30 and some Arizona sand.
Sorry no banana for scale, but would fit inside for sure.
#myrmecology
More people should try #EmpiresOfTheUndergrowth, playing as an ant colony is pretty fun, especially when there are so many different insects (and other types of creatures) around, several very different maps, and several different ant species (+ termites)
This is truly a hidden gem, and an absolute delight for any interested in #biology, but especially if you're into #entomology / #myrmecology
(although notice: species depicted are typically only an inspiration and not authentic depictions)
#NewSpecies!
New ant from #china just nipped us:
Tetramorium sinensis
Treatment: https://treatment.plazi.org/id/562F9757-60E0-5B2D-B9B5-9669F67A9659
Publication: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1236.137346
#ZooKeys #TetramoriumSinensis
#FAIRdata
#science #OA #openaccess #biology #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #invertebrates #entomology #insects #hymenoptera #formicidae #myrmecology #ants
I've only just started reading Empire of Ants by Susanne Foitzik and Olaf Fritsche and I'm already awash with fascination.
Things I've learned:
- An ant queen can live up to 30 years!
- Worker ants of some species can live up to eight years (in laboratory conditions)
- The queen mates once (or several times) on her "nuptial flight" and collects all the sperm she will require to fertilise eggs for the rest of her life
- A queen may produce up to 150 million offspring in her lifetime!
- Ants do not see daylight until the latter stage of their life; they progress through roles starting in the nursery and ending with foraging / hunting
- It's estimated that only one out of every 10,000 young queens is successful in founding a new nest
Ants learned to farm fungi during a mass extinction
I've spent all day sorting and editing photos from last week's Sierra El Tigre, Sonora, Mexico biodiversity cataloging expedition. I finished all the invertebrates and now need to start on the plants. All 374 photos worth 😱
After a quick count, it looks like I photographed about 160 unique plant species over three days. This only includes a few trees and shrubs, which others were focusing on. Others documented many, many other plants I never saw and there are certainly many, many more that we missed. The biodiversity of the Sky Island ranges is mind blowing.
I'll set up a gallery and maybe do a short blog post about it on my site, but here's one of the weirder things I photographed: ant crickets! They live in ant nests. We had a myrmecologist on the trip who dug these up. They are about the size of the medium-small ants they live with, smaller than a small grain of rice.
🤗🤗🤗 We welcome Nora Kerschbaumer as a new member @Mol_Ecol @uniinnsbruck !
Nora does her MSc thesis on the #SocialGenetics and #PopulationGenetics of the #ant #Lasiusfuliginosus
New review: Offering an interesting critique of established ideas, this slim volume surveys numerous examples to argue that the behaviour of ant colonies arises from interactions between individuals.
#Books #BookReview #Scicomm #Ethology #Entomology #Ants #Myrmecology @bookstodon @princetonupress @MyrmecolNews @animalbehaviourlive @entsocamerica
New review: The Ant Collective is chock-a-block with infographics and is a wonderful introduction to the inner workings of an ant colony that should have very wide public appeal.
#Books #BookReview #Scicomm #Ethology #Entomology #Ants #Myrmecology @bookstodon @princetonupress @MyrmecolNews @entsocamerica
Something something collective behaviour this way comes... time for a slight detour, stay tuned for not one but three reviews on ant behaviour.
#Books #BookReview #Scicomm #Ethology #Entomology #Ants #Myrmecology @princetonupress
im going anting 👍 it rained where i lived recently so i hope i find something cool (esp. camponotus) #Myrmecology #ants #antposting
Having fun with a new clip-on macro lens watching some #formica (pratensis, I think) that seem to have made home on raspberries 🐜🖤 They’ve curled up some leaves with many ants hiding inside them, but still no aphids nowhere to be seen
We’ve had these ants (Black-backed Meadow Ants, I think) in the garden for couple years now. The workers seem to be larger than last year, I guess they’re doing well 🐜. Ants often get bad rep in #gardening, but we never had any issues with these, all the berry plants around them are as productive as ever and here they even seem to maybe be getting in on #pollination
@SallyStrange I wonder why the ants were out and about together when it's so cold out.
Calling anyone versed in #myrmecology who might have an answer.
Myrmecophily (Ecology 🏞️)
Myrmecophily is the term applied to positive interspecies associations between ants and a variety of other organisms, such as plants, other arthropods, and fungi. Myrmecophily refers to mutualistic associations with ants, though in its more general use, the term may also refer to commensal or even parasitic interactions. The term "myrmecophile" is used mainly for animal...
Banded sugar-ants (Camponotus consobrinus) doing some house-cleaning after a rainy night.
#insects #ants #macro #MacroPhotography #photography #myrmecology #MyrmecologyMonday
Let’s talk about #ants and #myrmecology today, because I am seeing these dear little Winter Ants emerging all over the place. Looks like they come out on the first warm spring day, which apparently it is here in #virginia.
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