Glossary of ant terms

This is a glossary of terms used in the descriptions of ants.

A

alate
winged reproductive male or female ant[1]

B

Berlese funnel

see also Winkler extraction

device used to extract ants and other living organism from soil and leaf-litter samples; a sample is placed on a screen with a funnel beneath, and a heat source above; the drying forces the animals downwards, where they fall into a collecting jar, usually filled with alcohol[1]
bivouac
in army and driver ants, nest formed by the bodies of the ants themselves to protect the queen and larvae[1]

D

dulosis
see slave-making[1]
dichthadiiform
wingless queen with enlarged gaster, having a broadened head, very small eyes and worker-like alitrunk[2][3]
domatium

see also myrmecodomatium

in plants, tiny chamber produced by plants to house arthropods[4]

E

epigaeic

see also hypogaeic

living or foraging above the ground[1]
ergate
a member of the non-reproductive, laboring caste.
ergatogyne

see also ergatoid

denotes any intercaste female morphologically intermediate between workers and (winged) queens, not restricted to the reproductive caste; formerly often used interchangeably to refer to ergatoid queens[5]
ergatoid

see also ergatogyne

a wingless (dealate) reproductive adult ant, anatomically intermediate in form between workers and winged queens or males[5]

F

fungivorous
feeding on fungi[1]

G

gamergate
a mated, egg-laying, female worker in species lacking a queen[5]
granivorous
seed herbivory, feeding on grain[1]
gyne
a member of the female reproductive caste[1]

H

haplometrosis

see also pleometrosis

colony founding by a single queen[6]
hypogaeic

see also epigaeic

subterranean, living below the ground, or at least beneath the leaf litter, stones or dead bark[1]

M

mermithergate

see also mermithogyne

"parasitogenic" phenotype of worker ants, caused by mermithid nematodes[7]
mermithogyne

see also mermithergate

"parasitogenic" phenotype of gynes, caused by mermithid nematodes[7]
monandry

see also polyandry

queen mating with a single male[8]
monodomy

see also polydomy

colony housing arrangement in a single nest[9]
monogyny

see also polygyny, primary monogyny, secondary monogyny

nest arrangement containing a single queen[6]
multicoloniality

see also unicoloniality

nest arrangement of a population of ants consisting of multiple independent colonies (monodomous or polydomous)[9]
myrmecochory
seed dispersal by ants[10]
myrmecodomatium

see also domatium

domatium housed by ants[4]
myrmecologist
a student of ants[1]
myrmecology
the study of ants[1]
myrmecophily
association of various organisms with ants[11]
myrmecophyte
plant that lives in a mutualistic association with ants[1]

N

nanitic
a worker of the first generation, usually smaller in size than subsequent generations[12]

O

oligogyny
nest arrangement with multiple queens, defined by worker tolerance towards all queens in the colony and antagonism among the queens[13]

P

pheromone trail

see also domatium

trail of chemical compounds secreted by ants to guide nestmates to a target (usually food)[14]
pilosity
quality of being covered with hair[1]
pleometrosis

see also haplometrosis

colony founding by multiple queens[6]
plerergate
see replete[15]
polyandry

see also monandry

queen mating with multiple males[8]
polydomy

see also monodomy

colony arrangement housed in multiple separate nests[9]
polyethism
division of labor, the development of different roles[16]
polygyny

see also monogyny, primary polygyny, secondary polygyny

nest arrangement containing multiple queens[6]
polymorphism
in social insects, having more than one caste within the same sex[1]
primary monogyny

see also monogyny

single queen founding a colony (haplometrosis), with no additional queens incorporated into the colony[6]
primary polygyny

see also polygyny

colony founding by multiple queens (pleometrosis), with more than one queen surviving[6]

Q

queen
see gyne

R

replete
worker ant that functions as a living larder, having an enlarged abdomen filled with liquid food[1]
secondary monogyny

see also monogyny

colony founding by multiple queens (pleometrosis), a single queen survive[6]

S

secondary polygyny

see also polygyny

colony founding by a single queen (haplometrosis), with additional queens incorporated into the colony at a later stage, usually by adoption or fusion with other colonies[6]
slave-making
the capture of brood of other ant species that is then reared as slaves[1]

T

tandem running

see also pheromone trail

recruitment method used by some species of ants, where one ant leads a single, closely following nestmate to a target (usually food)[14]
trail pheromone
see pheromone trail
trophallaxis
transfer of liquid food among family members or guest organisms[1]
trophic egg
non-viable egg laid by the queen to be used as a source of nutrition[1]
trophobiosis
mutualistic relationships between ants and other insects[17]

U

unicoloniality

see also multicoloniality

a population of ants inhabiting a single large polydomous colony[9]

W

Winkler extraction

see also Berlese funnel

device used to extract ants and other living organism from soil and leaf-litter samples; a sample is placed inside an inner bag constructed from cloth mesh, which is suspended in a second bag containing a funnel leading to a collecting jar, usually filled with alcohol; the device is hung up in the air and passively extracts escaping animals[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Agosti, Donat; Majer, Jonathan D.; Alonso, Leeanne E.; Schultz, Ted R., eds. (2000). Ants: Standard Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-885-1.
  2. ^ Schmidt, C. A; Shattuck, S. O. (2014). "The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior". Zootaxa. 3817 (1): 1–242. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1. PMID 24943802.
  3. ^ Brown, W. L. Jr. (1960). "Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. III Tribe Amblyoponini (Hymenoptera)". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 122: 143–230.
  4. ^ a b Michael Allaby (2012). A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. OUP Oxford. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-19-960057-1.
  5. ^ a b c Peeters, C. P. (1991). "Ergatoid queens and intercastes in ants: Two distinct adult forms which look morphologically intermediate between workers and winged queens". Insectes Sociaux. 38 (1): 1–15. doi:10.1007/BF01242708. S2CID 19188793.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Wilson, Edward O.; Hölldobler, Bert (1977). "The number of queens: An important trait in ant evolution". Naturwissenschaften. 64 (1): 8–15. Bibcode:1977NW.....64....8H. doi:10.1007/bf00439886. S2CID 13004419.
  7. ^ a b Csősz, S.; Majoros, G. (2009). "Ontogenetic origin of mermithogenic Myrmica phenotypes (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)". Insectes Sociaux. 56 (1): 70–76. doi:10.1007/s00040-008-1040-3. S2CID 24435877.
  8. ^ a b Heinze, Jürgen; Tsuji, Kazuki (1995). "Ant reproductive strategies". Researches on Population Ecology. 37 (2): 135–149. Bibcode:1995PopEc..37..135H. doi:10.1007/BF02515814. S2CID 21948488.
  9. ^ a b c d Robinson, Elva JH (2014). "Polydomy: the organisation and adaptive function of complex nest systems in ants". Current Opinion in Insect Science. 5: 37–43. Bibcode:2014COIS....5...37R. doi:10.1016/j.cois.2014.09.002. PMID 32846740.
  10. ^ Pfeiffer, Martin; Huttenlocher, Heiko; Ayasse, Manfred (2010). "Myrmecochorous plants use chemical mimicry to cheat seed-dispersing ants". Functional Ecology. 24 (3): 545–555. Bibcode:2010FuEco..24..545P. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2009.01661.x.
  11. ^ Mynhardt, Glené (2013). "Declassifying Myrmecophily in the Coleoptera to Promote the Study of Ant-Beetle Symbioses". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2013 (7): 1–8. doi:10.1155/2013/696401.
  12. ^ Ouagoussounon, I; Offenberg, J; Sinzogan, A; Adandonon, A; Kossou, D; Vayssières, JF (2015). "Founding weaver ant queens (Oecophylla longinoda) increase production and nanitic worker size when adopting non-nestmate pupae". SpringerPlus. 4 (6): 6. doi:10.1186/2193-1801-4-6. PMC 4429428. PMID 25995983.
  13. ^ Hölldobler, Bert; Carlin, Norman F. (1985). "Colony founding, queen dominance and oligogyny in the Australian meat ant Iridomyrmex purpureus". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 18 (1): 45–58. doi:10.1007/BF00299237. ISSN 1432-0762. JSTOR 4599861. S2CID 20847952.
  14. ^ a b Planqué, Robert; van den Berg, Jan Bouwe; Franks, Nigel R. (2010). "Recruitment Strategies and Colony Size in Ants". PLOS ONE. 5 (8): e11664. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...511664P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011664. PMC 2915909. PMID 20694195.
  15. ^ Wheeler, W. M. (1907). "On certain modified hairs peculiar to the ants of arid regions". Biological Bulletin. 13 (4): 185–202. doi:10.2307/1535694. JSTOR 1535694.
  16. ^ Corn, M. L. (1980). "Polymorphism and polyethism in the neotropical ant Cephalotes atratus (L.)". Insectes Sociaux. 27 (1): 29–42. doi:10.1007/bf02224519. S2CID 6813618.
  17. ^ Delabie, Jacques H. C. (2001). "Trophobiosis Between Formicidae and Hemiptera (Sternorrhyncha and Auchenorrhyncha): an Overview" (PDF). Neotropical Entomology. 30 (4): 501–516. doi:10.1590/S1519-566X2001000400001.