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Myrmecology (/ m ɜːr m ɪ ˈ k ɒ l ə dʒ i /; from Greek: μύρμηξ, myrmex, "ant" and λόγος, logos, "study") is a branch of entomology focusing on the study of ants. Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of social systems because of their complex and varied forms of social organization .
Leafcutter ants have very specific roles in taking care of the fungal garden and dumping the refuse. Waste management is a key role for each colony's longevity. The necrotrophic parasitic fungus Escovopsis threatens the ants' food source and thus is a constant danger to the ants. The waste transporters and waste-heap workers are the older, more ...
"Scout" ants are the first ones out of the mound every morning. They seek food, and mark their path as they return to the mound to alert the worker ants. The worker ants follow the scent trail and collect the food. Other worker ants clean, extend, and generally tend to the mound, the queen, and the brood. All the ants in the colonies are ...
Most organisms forage, hunt, or use photosynthesis to get food, but around 50 million years ago — long before humans were around — ants began cultivating and growing their own food.
Aphid honeydew can provide an abundant food source for ants (aphids in the genus Tuberolachnus can secrete more honeydew droplets per hour than their body weight) and for some ants, aphids may be their only source of food. In these circumstances, ants may supplement their honeydew intake by preying on the aphids once the aphid populations have ...
Honey ants are unique in using their own bodies as living storage, used later by their fellow ants when food is otherwise scarce. When the liquid stored inside a honeypot ant is needed, the worker ants stroke the antennae of the honeypot ant, causing the honeypot ant to regurgitate the stored liquid from its crop. [4] [5]
The snout and the scientific name of the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) reflect its feeding habits.. Myrmecophagy is a feeding behavior in animals, defined by the consumption of termites or ants—particularly as pertaining to those animal species whose diets are largely, or completely, composed of these insect types.
Within 14 days, the ants are covered in the bacteria, where they are stored in crypts and cavities found in the exoskeletons. The bacteria produce small molecules that can prevent the growth of a specialized fungus garden pathogen. [33] Attine ants have very specialized diets, which seem to reduce their microbiotic diversity. [74] [75] [76] [77]