30 replies to this topic

[IdioticMouse26]

Ant of the Day: Carebara diversa

(A C. diversa queen(above), and a major surrounded by various casts of C. diversa. Credit: Antstore)

 

Carebara diversa, or Asian Marauder Ants, are known for their long foraging trails, extreme polymorphism, and polyethism in their colonies, from small minors measuring 1.5-2.5mm in length to supermajors that weigh 550 times heavier than their most minor counterparts. The size difference between the casts is so extreme that multiple minor workers have been seen riding a major in foraging trails.

Carebara diversa ants are polygynous and can have up to 16 queens per colony, enabling the colony to have up to 500,000 individuals. Their average colony size is 20,000-100,000.

All these traits often make people mistake C. diversa with army ants. But there are crucial differences between Marauder ants and Army ants:

1. Army ants only have one queen.

2. Army ants do not build permanent nests.

3. Army ants do not have nuptial flights.

4. Army ants only hunt and eat insects.

Also, C. diversa is widely spread throughout India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and the Philippines, while most army ant species are found in South America. 

The diet of C. diversa primarily consists of insects. They also enjoy honey, fruit, jelly, nuts, and seeds. It was even recorded that up to 50% of the ant’s diets consisted of seeds during winter. Even though they are not picky about what they eat, they are not a beginner species. They are sensitive and difficult to keep due to their large colony sizes.

 

Sources: 

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Carebara_diversa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carebara_diversa

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/464748-Carebara-diversa

https://antontop.com/carebara-diversa/#:~:text=Carebara%20diversa%20is%20a%20polygynous,of%20up%20to%20500%2C000%20workers.

 

Edit: C. diversa is not polygynous but they do participate in pleometrosis.

Edited by IdioticMouse26, October 16 2024 - 12:49 AM.

[kiedeerk]

Great job. Much better in terms of factual content with resources and references

Fyi though C diversa is not polygynous but it’s close relative C affinis is

Edited by kiedeerk, October 15 2024 - 1:57 AM.

[IdioticMouse26]

Great job. Much better in terms of factual content with resources and references

Fyi though C diversa is not polygenous but it’s close relative C affinis is

Thank you! Although, did you mean polygynous? I read through my writing and I didn't mention that they were polygenous. 

I could be confusing the terms but polygynous means having multiple queens and polygenous means having different casts of ants, right?

[kiedeerk]

Polygynous meaning having multiple queens in a colony and polymorphic means having different casts

C diversa is not polygynous but is polymorphic

[Yusteponant]

The queen is so shiny

Note: For those who don't know I'm at Korea right now so if the upload time is a little weird, please understand. Sorry for the late update.

 

Ant of the Day: Aphaenogaster tennesseensis

 

tennesseensis15-M.jpg

(A. tennesseensis queen surrounded by her host species(A. rudis) of workers. Credit: Alexander Wild)

 

Aphaenogaster tennesseensis are a temporary social parasite of other Aphaenogaster species. Native to the United States and eastern parts of Canada, they are a relatively large species. The interesting thing is the queens of the species are a similiar size of the workers. This is because as a parasitic species, the queens do not need large body reserves. 

 

They have their nuptial flight at June. Once their flight is over, the queens of A. tennesseensis infilitrates her host nest and eimits a powerful pheromone that makes her highly attractive. The host workers tend to her unknowingly and treats her like their queen. Once the host's queen is killed, their nest is slowly replaced by A. tennesseensis broods and workers. 

 

They tend to nest either in rotting wood or in soil. A. tennesseensis are granivors, their diet typically consists of peanuts, pecans, cashews, and almond. Although, they will still eagerly accept sugar water and other sources of proteins like feeder insects. 

[RushmoreAnts]

Polygynous meaning having multiple queens in a colony and polymorphic means having different casts

C diversa is not polygynous but is polymorphic

I believe he was also correcting your spelling of 'polygynous'. 

 

 

I could be confusing the terms but polygynous means having multiple queens and polygenous means having different casts of ants, right?

 

 

 

For further clarification,

 

'Gyne' is the technical term for the queen of a eusocial insect colony (ants, bees, termites, etc.). 

'Poly' is derived from the Greek word meaning 'many'. 

Therefore, poly-gyn-ous literally means 'has many queens'. 

 

'Morph' means 'shape' or 'change' and is derived from the Greek word 'Metamorphosis' which means 'to change'.

Therefore, poly-morph-ism means 'many shapes', signifying the different shapes and sizes of the different subcastes.

[IdioticMouse26]

Ant of the Day: Odontomachus bauri

 

(An Odontomachus bauri worker. Credit: Antark)

 

Note: I couldn’t upload for multiple days because Formiculture was down for me. It said something about SQL errors. Sorry about that.

 

Odontomachus bauri, also known as trap-jaw ants, are unique-looking and have an ability that matches their unique look. Their jaws can open 180 degrees and snap shut between 78 and 145 miles per hour(125 and 233 kilometres), which makes them have one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom. Their jaw is a spring-lock mechanism that releases when triggered. They also have thin, long strands of hair around their mouth, and when they touch something, it triggers the ant to strike. The triggering of the hairs also indicates whether the prey is within range. One more unique thing about their jaw is that they can use it not only for offence but also for defence. To escape danger, O. bauri can use the force of their jaws to propel themselves away. 

 

Many Odontomachus species hunt springtails and small arthropods. Some Odontomachus species specialize in hunting springtails so much that it is their only diet. O. bauri typically hunts other ants or termites, using its lethal jaw speeds to one-shot its prey. They live in neotropical regions like South America, and nests are very shallow. Most nests uncovered didn’t go into soil. Instead, they were found between crevices and under wood. 

They have nuptial flights year-round. Their queens are nearly indistinguishable from workers except for the scars on their thorax. The queens are semi-claustral, so if you want to keep one, you’ll need a foraging area.

 

Sources: 

https://www.antwiki....ntomachus_bauri

https://www.nbcnews....id/wbna14456898

[ANTdrew]

The server crashed for everybody.

[IdioticMouse26]

The server crashed for everybody.

Oh, ok, I thought it was just me or my region because I got email notification that someone just posted after the server crashed. I guess I confused the date!

Edited by IdioticMouse26, October 19 2024 - 2:05 AM.

[AntsGodzilla]

 

Ant of the Day: Odontomachus bauri

 

images.jpeg

(An Odontomachus bauri worker. Credit: Antark)

 

Note: I couldn’t upload for multiple days because Formiculture was down for me. It said something about SQL errors. Sorry about that.

 

Odontomachus bauri, also known as trap-jaw ants, are unique-looking and have an ability that matches their unique look. Their jaws can open 180 degrees and snap shut between 78 and 145 miles per hour(125 and 233 kilometres), which makes them have one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom. Their jaw is a spring-lock mechanism that releases when triggered. They also have thin, long strands of hair around their mouth, and when they touch something, it triggers the ant to strike. The triggering of the hairs also indicates whether the prey is within range. One more unique thing about their jaw is that they can use it not only for offence but also for defence. To escape danger, O. bauri can use the force of their jaws to propel themselves away. 

 

Many Odontomachus species hunt springtails and small arthropods. Some Odontomachus species specialize in hunting springtails so much that it is their only diet. O. bauri typically hunts other ants or termites, using its lethal jaw speeds to one-shot its prey. They live in neotropical regions like South America, and nests are very shallow. Most nests uncovered didn’t go into soil. Instead, they were found between crevices and under wood. 

They have nuptial flights year-round. Their queens are nearly indistinguishable from workers except for the scars on their thorax. The queens are semi-claustral, so if you want to keep one, you’ll need a foraging area.

 

Sources: 

https://www.antwiki....ntomachus_bauri

https://www.nbcnews....id/wbna14456898

 

This is amazing! I love Odontomachus sp.

[bmb1bee]

Waiting on some species of Amblyoponinae to show up