| microsatellites reveal clonal structure of populations of the thelytokous ant platythyrea punctata (f. smith) (hymenoptera; formicidae) | parthenogenesis is often thought to constitute an evolutionary dead end as compared with sexual reproduction because genetic recombination is limited or nonexistent in parthenogenetic populations. yet there are many species to demonstrate that parthenogenesis can initially be extremely successful under certain environmental conditions. in this study we used microsatellite markers to investigate the genetic structure of four natural populations of the neotropical thelytokous parthenogenetic ant p ... | 1999 | 10564455 |
| ritualized conflict in odontomachus brunneus and the generation of interaction-based task allocation: a new organizational mechanism in ants. | intracolonial conflict among ant workers can establish a reproductive hierarchy, with top-ranking individuals often securing oviposition opportunities. here we show that in the ant odontomachus brunneus, reproduction-based dominance interactions control worker movement and location, and that this, in turn, mechanistically governs task allocation within the colony and establishes a division of labour for nonreproductive tasks. movement made by a worker towards the brood is mostly preceded by winn ... | 1999 | 10564598 |
| mushroom bodies of vespid wasps. | mushroom bodies are higher centers in the brains of insects. studies on honey bees and species of ants suggest that these centers are particularly prominent in social insects. the present study confirms the presence of large mushroom bodies in five subfamilies of vespid wasps, while at the same time showing significant departures from the mushroom body organization that typifies bees and ants. although the basic organizational plan of the insect mushroom body into calyces, peduncle, and lobes is ... | 2000 | 10578104 |
| satellite dna in the ant messor structor (hymenoptera, formicidae). | this paper is the first record of the satellite dna of formicidae. the satellite dna of the ant messor structor is organized in a tandem repeat of monomers of 79 bp. like satellite dnas of other insects, it is at rich and presents direct and inverted internal repeats. restriction analysis of the total dna with methylation-sensitive enzymes strongly suggests that this dna is undermethylated. the presence of this repetitive dna in other species of the genus messor is also tested. | 1999 | 10584309 |
| 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 monomorph ... | 1999 | 10600613 |
| detectors for polarized skylight in insects: a survey of ommatidial specializations in the dorsal rim area of the compound eye. | apart from the sun, the polarization pattern of the sky offers insects a reference for visual compass orientation. using behavioral experiments, it has been shown in a few insect species (field crickets, honey bees, desert ants, and house flies) that the detection of the oscillation plane of polarized skylight is mediated exclusively by a group of specialized ommatidia situated at the dorsal rim of the compound eye (dorsal rim area). the dorsal rim ommatidia of these species share a number physi ... | 1999 | 10607378 |
| evolutionary transition from single to multiple mating in fungus-growing ants. | queens of leafcutter ants exhibit the highest known levels of multiple mating (up to 10 mates per queen) among ants. multiple mating may have been selected to increase genetic diversity among nestmate workers, which is hypothesized to be critical in social systems with large, long-lived colonies under severe pressure of pathogens. advanced fungus-growing (leafcutter) ants have large numbers (104-106 workers) and long-lived colonies, whereas basal genera in the attine tribe have small (< 200 work ... | 1999 | 10620226 |
| analysis of 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid labelled n-glycans by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry. | fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (face) is a fast and efficient analytical method which is now widely used in glycobiology for the separation and quantification of free or glycoprotein-released oligosaccharides. however, since identification by face of n-glycan structures is only based on their electrophoretic mobility after labelling with 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3, 6-trisulfonic acid (ants), co-migration of derived glycans on gel could occur which may result in erroneous structura ... | 2000 | 10623937 |
| visual homing in analog hardware. | insects of several species rely on visual landmarks for returning to important locations in their environment. the "average landmark vector model" is a parsimonious model which reproduces some aspects of the visual homing behavior of bees and ants. to gain insights in the structure and complexity of the neural apparatus that might underly the navigational capabilities of these animals, the average landmark vector model was implemented in analog hardware and used to control a mobile robot. the ex ... | 1999 | 10630466 |
| ant algorithms for discrete optimization. | this article presents an overview of recent work on ant algorithms, that is, algorithms for discrete optimization that took inspiration from the observation of ant colonies' foraging behavior, and introduces the ant colony optimization (aco) metaheuristic. in the first part of the article the basic biological findings on real ants are reviewed and their artificial counterparts as well as the aco metaheuristic are defined. in the second part of the article a number of applications of aco algorith ... | 1999 | 10633574 |
| attachment forces of ants measured with a centrifuge: better 'wax-runners' have a poorer attachment to a smooth surface. | the symbiotic ant partners of glaucous macaranga ant-plants show an exceptional capacity to run on the slippery epicuticular wax crystals covering the plant stem without any difficulty. we test the hypothesis that these specialised 'wax-runners' have a general, superior attachment capacity. we compared attachment on a smooth surface for 11 ant species with different wax-running capacities. the maximum force that could be withstood before an ant became detached was quantified using a centrifuge r ... | 2000 | 10637179 |
| octopamine reverses the isolation-induced increase in trophallaxis in the carpenter ant camponotus fellah. | social deprivation is an unusual situation for ants that normally maintain continuous contact with their nestmates. when a worker was experimentally isolated for 5 days and then reunited with a nestmate, she engaged in prolonged trophallaxis. it is suggested that trophallaxis allows her to restore a social bond with her nestmates and to re-integrate into the colony, particularly via the exchange of colony-specific hydrocarbons. octopamine reduced trophallaxis in these workers as well as hydrocar ... | 2000 | 10637180 |
| effect of phospholipid composition on an amphipathic peptide-mediated pore formation in bilayer vesicles. | to better understand the influence of phospholipid acyl-chain composition on the formation of pores by cytotoxic amphipathic helices in biological membranes, the leakage of aqueous contents induced by the synthetic peptide gala (weaalaealae alaehlaealaealealaa) from large unilamellar phospholipid vesicles of various compositions has been studied. peptide-mediated leakage was examined at ph 5.0 from vesicles made of phosphatidylcholine (pc) and phosphatidylglycerol (pg) with the following acyl-ch ... | 2000 | 10653794 |
| electron paramagnetic resonance study of the migratory ant pachycondyla marginata abdomens. | electron paramagnetic resonance was used to investigate the magnetic material present in abdomens of pachycondyla marginata ants. a g congruent with 4.3 resonance of high-spin ferric ions and a very narrow g congruent with 2 line are observed. two principal resonance broad lines, one with g > 4.5 (lf) and the other in the region of g congruent with 2 (hf), were associated with the biomineralization process. the resonance field shift between these two lines, hf and lf, associated with magnetic na ... | 2000 | 10653815 |
| insect juvenile hormone: from "status quo" to high society. | juvenile hormone (jh) exerts pleiotropic functions during insect life cycles. the regulation of jh biosynthesis by neuropeptides and biogenic amines, as well as the transport of jh by specific binding proteins is now well understood. in contrast, comprehending its mode of action on target organs is still hampered by the difficulties in isolating specific receptors. in concert with ecdysteroids, jh orchestrates molting and metamorphosis, and its modulatory function in molting processes has gained ... | 2000 | 10657056 |
| venom alkaloids of fire ants in relation to worker size and age. | piperidine alkaloids compose most of the venom of the red imported fire ant, solenopsis invicta, and we examined how six of these alkaloids varied across worker size and age. in a colony sampled intensively, the relative abundance of each alkaloid was highly correlated with worker size with one exception, and ratios of saturated to unsaturated alkaloids were positively correlated with worker size. similarly, both the abundance and ratios of alkaloids differed significantly between the small and ... | 2000 | 10665803 |
| pinpointing food sources: olfactory and anemotactic orientation in desert ants, cataglyphis fortis. | desert ants, cataglyphis fortis, search for a repeatedly visited food source by employing a combined olfactory and anemotactic orientation strategy (in addition to their visually based path-integration scheme). this behaviour was investigated by video-tracking consecutive foraging trips of individually marked ants under a variety of experimental conditions, including manipulations of the olfactory and wind-detecting systems of the ants. if the wind blows from a constant direction, ants familiar ... | 2000 | 10667968 |
| alopecia induced by ants. | | 1999 | 10674096 |
| mechanisms of dispersed central-place foraging in polydomous colonies of the argentine ant. | many species of ants occupy multiple nests, a condition known as polydomy. because of their decentralized structure, polydomous colonies may be removed from some of the constraints associated with classic central-place foraging. we used laboratory and field experiments to assess the mechanisms involved in dispersed central-place foraging in polydomous colonies of the argentine ant linepithema humile, a widespread invasive species. both in the laboratory and in the field, argentine ants establish ... | 2000 | 10675266 |
| lateral optic flow does not influence distance estimation in the desert ant cataglyphis fortis. | the present account answers the question of whether desert ants (cataglyphis fortis) gauge the distance they have travelled by using self-induced lateral optic-flow parameters, as has been described for bees. the ants were trained to run to a distant food source within a channel whose walls were covered with black-and-white gratings. from the food source, they were transferred to test channels of double or half the training width, and the distance they travelled before searching for home and the ... | 2000 | 10708632 |
| leaf caching in atta leafcutting ants: discrete cache formation through positive feedback. | we examined the occurrence, mechanism and costs and benefits of leaf caching in laboratory colonies of two species of leafcutting ants, atta cephalotes and a. colombica. if foragers returning to the nest are unable to enter because of a temporary bottleneck caused by leaves building up they may deposit their leaf pieces outside the nest entrance, forming a leaf cache. similar leaf caches occur in the field at foraging trail junctions, obstacles on the trail and within nest entrance tunnels. fora ... | 2000 | 10715181 |
| panting desert ants--and how they navigate. | | 2000 | 10726283 |
| three energy variables predict ant abundance at a geographical scale. | energy theory posits three processes that link local abundance of ectotherms to geographical gradients in temperature. a survey of 49 new world habitats found a two order of magnitude span in the abundance (nests m(-2)) of ground nesting ants (formicidae). abundance increased with net primary productivity (r2=0.55), a measure of the baseline supply of harvestable energy. abundance further increased with mean temperature (r2=0.056), a constraint on foraging activity for this thermophilic taxon. f ... | 2000 | 10737406 |
| use of dufour's gland secretion in nest defence and brood nutrition by hover wasps (hymenoptera, stenogastrinae). | social wasps of the subfamily stenogastrinae produce an abdominal secretion that is used in two distinct biological contexts. first, the secretion plays an important role in larval nutrition where it serves as a substrate in which food is placed by the adults for eventual consumption by the larvae. second, in several species, females apply the same secretion to the substrate on which their nests are constructed, where it constitutes a sticky barrier that defends the immature brood from predation ... | 2000 | 10742524 |
| expanding habitat of the imported fire ant (solenopsis invicta): a public health concern. | residents in the southeastern united states would hardly describe life with the aggressive imported fire ant as peaceful coexistence. the continued spread of these insects has produced agricultural problems, changes in the ecosystem, and increasing numbers of subjects with sting sequelae, including hypersensitivity reactions, secondary infections, and rare neurologic sequelae. evolutionary changes have facilitated their expansion northward into virginia and westward into california, and increasi ... | 2000 | 10756216 |
| are variations in cuticular hydrocarbons of queens and workers a reliable signal of fertility in the ant harpegnathos saltator? | one of the key features of insect societies is the division of labor in reproduction between one or a few fertile individuals and many sterile nestmates that function as helpers. the behavioral and physiological mechanisms regulating reproduction in ant societies are still not very well understood, especially in species in which all colony members are reproductively totipotent. in the ponerine ant harpegnathos saltator, queen-worker dimorphism is very limited, and a few mated workers reproduce ( ... | 2000 | 10760282 |
| division of labour and seasonality in the ant leptothorax albipennis: worker corpulence and its influence on behaviour. | we address the organization of workers in social insect societies. we distinguish between changes in behavioural role over the nurse to forager role sequence, which may depend on changes in physiology, and potentially more rapid changes of task within role. we investigated the association between role and nutrient status in the ant leptothorax albipennis. worker lipid stores were quantified using a new body size-controlled method, and were related to worker behaviour. worker lipid stores were ev ... | 2000 | 10792928 |
| polarization-sensitive interneurons in the optic lobe of the desert ant cataglyphis bicolor. | desert ants, cataglyphis bicolor (hymenoptera), navigate by using compass information provided by skylight polarization. in this study, electrophysiological recordings were made from polarization-sensitive interneurons (pol-neurons) in the optic lobe of cataglyphis. the pol-neurons exhibit a characteristic polarization opponency. they receive monochromatic input from the uv receptors of the specialized dorsal rim area of the compound eye. both polarization opponency and monochromacy are features ... | 2000 | 10798199 |
| the structure of an insect chymotrypsin. | the south american imported fire ant (solenopsis invicta), without natural enemies in the united states, widely infests the southern united states, causing more than a half billion dollars in health and agriculture-related damage annually in texas alone. fire ants are resistant to most insecticides, so control will require a more fundamental understanding of their biochemistry and metabolism leading to the design of selective, ecologically safe insecticides. the 4th instar larvae play a crucial ... | 2000 | 10801356 |
| pollen viability reduction as a potential cost of ant association for acacia constricta (fabaceae). | field studies investigating the impact of ants on the reproduction of plants bearing extrafloral nectaries have traditionally focused on seed production, a component of female fitness. the purpose of this study was to test whether ants can affect the pollen viability, a component of male fitness, when they visit flowers of the shrub acacia constricta. acacia constricta inflorescences hand-pollinated with flowers over which formica perpilosa ants had crawled set significantly fewer seed pods than ... | 2000 | 10811795 |
| reduced genetic variation and the success of an invasive species. | despite the severe ecological and economic damage caused by introduced species, factors that allow invaders to become successful often remain elusive. of invasive taxa, ants are among the most widespread and harmful. highly invasive ants are often unicolonial, forming supercolonies in which workers and queens mix freely among physically separate nests. by reducing costs associated with territoriality, unicolonial species can attain high worker densities, allowing them to achieve interspecific do ... | 2000 | 10811892 |
| hydrocarbon site of synthesis and circulation in the desert ant cataglyphis niger. | chemical analyses revealed that in cataglyphis niger both the hemolymph and the crop contain the same hydrocarbons that are found in the postpharyngeal gland (ppg). on the cuticle, on the other hand, alkanes, and in particular nonacosane, were more abundant than in the ppg. studies of their biosynthesis in vivo, using intact ants, revealed the presence of newly synthesized hydrocarbons in both the ppg and the crop. in decapitated ants (in the absence of the ppg), however, the crop did not contai ... | 2000 | 10817835 |
| ants estimate area using buffon's needle. | we show for the first time, to our knowledge, that ants can measure the size of potential nest sites. nest size assessment is by individual scouts. such scouts always make more than one visit to a potential nest before initiating an emigration of their nest mates and they deploy individual-specific trails within the potential new nest on their first visit. we test three alternative hypotheses for the way in which scouts might measure nests. experiments indicated that individual scouts use the in ... | 2000 | 10819145 |
| the defensive chemistry of ants. | | 2000 | 10838783 |
| defense by foot adhesion in a beetle (hemisphaerota cyanea). | the beetle hemisphaerota cyanea (chrysomelidae; cassidinae) responds to disturbance by activating a tarsal adhesion mechanism by which it secures a hold on the substrate. its tarsi are oversized and collectively bear some 60,000 adhesive bristles, each with two terminal pads. while walking, the beetle commits but a small fraction of the bristles to contact with the substrate. but when assaulted, it presses its tarsi flatly down, thereby touching ground with all or nearly all of the bristles. onc ... | 2000 | 10841556 |
| does the presence of ant nests matter for oviposition to a specialized myrmecophilous maculinea butterfly? | more than 50% of the lycaenid butterflies have an ant-associated lifestyle (myrmecophily) which may vary from coexistence to specific mutualistic or even parasitic interactions. ant-related host-plant selection and oviposition has been observed in some myrmecophilous lycaenids. therefore, it is remarkable that there is no evidence for this behaviour in the highly specialized, obligate myrmecophilous butterflies of the genus maculinea. in contrast with previous findings, our results provide evide ... | 2000 | 10853727 |
| how do ants assess food volume? | by comparing the behaviour of lasius niger scouts at sucrose droplets of different volumes, we empirically identified the criterion used by each scout to assess the amount of food available as well as the rules governing its decision to lay a recruitment trail. when scouts discovered food volumes exceeding the capacity of their crop (3 or 6 µl), 90% immediately returned to the nest laying a recruitment trail. in contrast, when smaller food droplets (0.3, 0.7 or 1 µl) were offered, several scouts ... | 2000 | 10860533 |
| experimental studies of the ability of ants to add and subtract small numbers. | ants had to communicate information to each other in an apparatus consisting of a horizontal "trunk" with "branches" in order to obtain food, the information being used to identify which of 40 branches had a feeder. the feeder was placed on two preselected branches significantly more frequently than on the other branches. the ants were able to tune their communication system such that the duration of communications was related to the frequency with which feeders were located on branches, and the ... | 2000 | 10872721 |
| camponotus fellah colony integration: worker individuality necessitates frequent hydrocarbon exchanges. | our aim was to test the existence of gestalt colony odour in camponotus fellah. we isolated individual workers to prevent trophallaxis, allogrooming and body contact. after 20 days, the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of the isolated ants diverged from that of the parent colony. moreover, each isolated individual had its own specific blend. this procedure showed that after about 20 days of isolation there was a turnover of the colony odour, revealing the genetically expressed hydrocarbon profile o ... | 2000 | 10877891 |
| a new case of trophobiosis between ants and heteroptera. | despite the large specific diversity of equatorial rainforests, caternaultiella rugosa (heteroptera; plataspidae) was only noted on two euphorbiaceous trees (bridelia micrantha and b. grandis) and was attended by two ant species, camponotus brutus (formicinae) and myrmicaria opaciventris (myrmicinae). we recorded semiochemical (attending workers palpated the dorsal abdominal glands of the nymphs) and semantic signals (nymphs ready to excrete honeydew raised their bodies; they alternated the extr ... | 2000 | 10879292 |
| electrically driven microseparation methods for pesticides and metabolites: iv. effects of the nature of fluorescent labels on the enantioseparation of pesticides and their degradation products by capillary zone electrophoresis with uv and laser-induced fluorescence detection. | three different fluorescent tags, namely 5-aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (ansa), 7-aminonaphthalene-1,3-disulfonic acid (andsa), and 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (ants) were evaluated in the precolumn derivatization of some chiral phenoxy acid herbicides, some chiral transformation products of pyrethroid insecticides, and in their subsequent enantiomeric separation by capillary electrophoresis (ce). the electrolyte systems consisted of sodium phosphate buffers containing chiral s ... | 2000 | 10879964 |
| red legs and golden gasters: batesian mimicry in australian ants. | there are numerous reports of invertebrates that are visual mimics of ants, but no formal reports of mimicry of an ant, by an ant. two endemic australian ants, myrmecia fulvipes and camponotus bendigensis are remarkably similar in colour and size; both are generally black but have red legs and golden gasters. the density and hue of the pubescence of each ant's gaster are relatively uncommon in ants, but are very rare when combined with the black forebody and red legs. the ants are similarly size ... | 2000 | 10883435 |
| gaseous templates in ant nests. | we apply a diffusion model to the atmosphere of ant nests. with particular reference to carbon dioxide (co2), we explore analytically and numerically the spatial and temporal patterns of brood- or worker-produced gases in nests. the maximum concentration within a typical one-chamber ant nest with approximately 200 ants can reach 12.5 times atmospheric concentration, reaching 95% of equilibrium concentrations within 15 min. maximum concentration increases with increasing number of ants in the nes ... | 2000 | 10887903 |
| evidence from multiple gene sequences indicates that termites evolved from wood-feeding cockroaches. | despite more than half a century of research, the evolutionary origin of termites remains unresolved [1] [2] [3]. a clear picture of termite ancestry is crucial for understanding how these insects evolved eusociality, particularly because they lack the haplodiploid genetic system associated with eusocial evolution in bees, ants, wasps and thrips [4] [5]. termites, together with cockroaches and praying mantids, constitute the order dictyoptera, which has been the focus of numerous conflicting phy ... | 2000 | 10898984 |
| fields, networks, creativity and evolution. | organisms constitute wholes as a result of a network of organizing relations between the parts. in animals, this network has a morphological as well as a psychological aspect, and it regulates morphogenesis as well as behaviour. it is pointed out that closed networks of higher order, that have the characteristics of single organisms (communities of ants, termites and bees, cases of symbiosis, and perhaps even the earth), could also possess that regulating aspect. in the case of humans, the netwo ... | 2000 | 10901059 |
| oral toxicity of abamectin, boric acid, fipronil, and hydramethylnon to laboratory colonies of argentine ants (hymenoptera: formicidae). | comprehensive laboratory baiting studies with the 4 insecticides abamectin, boric acid, fipronil, and hydramethylnon were conducted against argentine ant, linepithema humile (mayr). serial dilutions of each insecticide prepared in a 25% sucrose solution were provided for 24 h or 14 d to groups of workers and queens. sucrose-water baits containing 1 x 10(-5)% fipronil and 0.1% hydramethylnon provided complete mortality of l. humile workers baited for 24 h. baits containing 1 x 10(-4) and 1 x 10(- ... | 2000 | 10902342 |
| competition induces adaptive shifts in caste ratios of a polyembryonic wasp. | an important transition in insect life-history evolution was the shift from a solitary existence to living in groups comprising specialized castes. caste-forming species produce some individuals that reproduce and others with worker functions that have few or no offspring. morphologically specialized castes are well known in eusocial species like ants and termites, but castes have also evolved in less-studied groups like thrips, aphids and polyembryonic wasps. because selection acts at both the ... | 2000 | 10910357 |
| ecology. when fire ants move in, others leave. | researchers have uncovered new evidence about the long-range, and potentially long-term, ecological damage being wrought by an invasive species of fire ant. the red imported fire ant solenopsis invicta displaces other ant species and upsets the structures of native communities of ants--disruptions that appear to be permanent, they report in the july issue of ecology letters. the drop in biodiversity could represent a significant loss, experts note, because of the critical role ants play in recyc ... | 2000 | 10917841 |
| relative abundance of oligosaccharides in candida species as determined by fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis. | fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (face) is a straightforward, sensitive method for determining the presence and relative abundance of individual oligomannosyl residues in candida mannoprotein, the major antigenic determinant located on the outer surface of the yeast cell wall. the single terminal aldehydes of oligomannosyl residues released by hydrolysis were tagged with the charged fluorophore 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (ants) and separated with high resolution on th ... | 2000 | 10921940 |
| acoustics, context and function of vibrational signalling in a lycaenid butterfly-ant mutualism. | juveniles of the australian common imperial blue butterfly, jalmenus evagoras, produce substrate-borne vibrational signals in the form of two kinds of pupal calls and three larval calls. pupae stridulate in the presence of conspecific larvae, when attended by an ant guard, and as a reaction against perturbation. using pupal pairs in which one member was experimentally muted, pupal calls were shown to be important in ant attraction and the maintenance of an ant guard. a pupa may use calls to regu ... | 2000 | 10924199 |
| [from the history of wound care]. | wound care in ancient times was based on many techniques: bandages soaked with antibiotics, sutures continuous or in separate stitches, apply of poultices around the wounds, honey and propolis as antibiotics in the treatment of wounds, surgical drainage of pus with a piece of tin pipe etc. the oldest wound clamp is shown with the jaws of ants holding together the edges of a wound. finally are discussed the cauterization and the principles of antisepsis and asepsis. | 2000 | 10929654 |
| structural characterization of oligosaccharides in recombinant soluble human interferon receptor 2 using fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis. | the n-linked oligosaccharide profiles (banding patterns in gels) and structures of recombinant soluble human interferon receptor 2 (r-shifnar2) were determined using fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (face, glyko, novato, ca). the method involves releasing n-linked oligosaccharide moieties from a glycoprotein by digestion with peptide-n glycanase (pngase f), labeling the released oligosaccharides with the fluorescent dye 8-aminonaphthalene-1,3,6-trisulfonate (ants), and separatin ... | 2000 | 10939438 |
| monitoring the n-glycosylation of plant glycoproteins by fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis. | we have evaluated the efficiency of a fast, simple and efficient method, fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (face), for the characterization of plant n-linked glycans. after their enzymatic release from plant glycoproteins, n-glycans were reductively aminated to the charged fluorophore 8-aminonaphthalene-1, 3, 6-trisulfonic acid (ants) and separated using high resolution polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. in addition, an affinity purification procedure using concanavalin a was de ... | 2000 | 10939471 |
| prospects for the biological control of subterranean termites (isoptera: rhinotermitidae), with special reference to coptotermes formosanus. | costs associated with subterranean termite damage and control are estimated to approach $2 billion annually in the united states alone. the formosan subterranean termite, coptotermes formosanus shiraki, is one of the more economically important subterranean species. in recent years, the shortcomings associated with conventional chemical control methods have prompted policymakers and scientists to evaluate the potential for biological control of subterranean termites (c. formosanus in particular) ... | 2000 | 10948359 |
| entomological fauna from reserva biológica do atol das rocas, rn, brazil: i. morphospecies composition. | atol das rocas, the unique atoll in the south-western atlantic, is located 144 nautical miles (266 km) northeast from the city of natal, ne brazil and 80 nautical miles from arquipélago de fernando de noronha, with geographic co-ordinates 3 masculine51's and 33 masculine49"w. it's of volcanic origin and coralline formation. the reef is ellipsoid, its largest axis (e-w) is approximately 3.7 km long, and the shortest (n-s) is 2.5 km. inside the lagoon, there are two islands: the ilha do farol and ... | 2000 | 10959113 |
| sequence and evolution of a hexamerin from the ant camponotus festinatus. | in the ant camponotus festinatus, two different hexamerins accumulate stage-specifically during the late larval period and at various times in adults. these hexamerins serve as storage proteins and play important roles in brood nourishment and colony founding. we report an analysis of the cdna sequence of c. festinatus hexamerin 2 (cfehex2). the native protein contains 732 amino acids, which are moderately enriched in aromatic amino acids, aspartate and asparagine. phylogenetic analyses show a c ... | 2000 | 10971720 |
| comparative effect of the venoms of ants of the genus pachycondyla (hymenoptera: ponerinae). | the venoms of 12 pachycondyla ant species, all generalist predators, were compared for their paralytic and lethal effects during prey capture of the cricket, acheta domesticus. the observed values covered a wide range that seems surprising when considering the close phylogenetic relatedness of the species. although employed for different purposes, these venoms had the same type of physiological effect. they caused a rapid, dose-dependent and reversible paralysis, followed by a second slow-acting ... | 2001 | 10978736 |
| the use of the anaesthetic, enflurane, for determination of metabolic rates and respiratory parameters in insects, using the ant, camponotus maculatus (fabricius) as the model. | this study investigated the effects of the anaesthetic, enflurane, on metabolic rates and ventilation patterns in the spotted sugar ant, camponotus maculatus, using flow-through respirometry. the standard metabolic rate was not affected by the anaesthetic. while the ants were anaesthetised they exhibited a similar discontinuous gas exchange cycle to that observed when they were voluntarily motionless, but their spiracles remained open for a longer time during the open or burst phase even though ... | 2000 | 10980298 |
| reproductive alliances and posthumous fitness enhancement in male ants. | ants provide excellent opportunities for studying the evolutionary aspects of reproductive conflict. relatedness asymmetries owing to the haplodiploid sex determination of hymenoptera create substantial fitness incentives for gaining control over sex allocation, often at the expense of the fitness interests of nest-mates. under worker-controlled split sex ratios either the reproductive interests of the mother queen (when workers male bias the sex ratio) or the father (when workers female bias th ... | 2000 | 10983828 |
| ant-like task allocation and recruitment in cooperative robots. | one of the greatest challenges in robotics is to create machines that are able to interact with unpredictable environments in real time. a possible solution may be to use swarms of robots behaving in a self-organized manner, similar to workers in an ant colony. efficient mechanisms of division of labour, in particular series-parallel operation and transfer of information among group members, are key components of the tremendous ecological success of ants. here we show that the general principles ... | 2000 | 10984052 |
| [ant maze behavior during switch from food motivation to defense motivation]. | it was shown that scout ants myrmica rubra are capable for an adequate modification of foraging habit acquired in a multichoice symmetrical maze following a reward change (syrup for the species brood). under conditions of the high level of food motivation of a family both during learning and "examination" (i.e., brood transportation) all the ants succeed in a conditioned switchover of heterogeneous reflexes. if the high level of motivation during learnings is changed for its low level during exa ... | 2000 | 10984912 |
| bait distribution among multiple colonies of pharaoh ants (hymenoptera: formicidae). | pharaoh ant, monomorium pharaonis (l.), infestations often consist of several colonies located at different nest sites. to achieve control, it is desirable to suppress or eliminate the populations of a majority of these colonies. we compared the trophallactic distribution and efficacy of two ant baits, with different modes of action, among groups of four colonies of pharaoh ants. baits contained either the metabolic-inhibiting active ingredient hydramethylnon or the insect growth regulator (igr) ... | 2000 | 10985038 |
| toxicity and repellency of borate-sucrose water baits to argentine ants (hymenoptera: formicidae). | the oral toxicity of boron compounds to the argentine ant, linepithema humile (mayr), was evaluated in laboratory tests. the ants were provided 25% sucrose water containing 0.5 and 1% boric acid, disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, and borax. lethal times of these solutions were a function of the concentration of boron. in field tests, the ants showed no discrimination between disodium octaborate tetrahydrate and boric acid. there was a significant reduction in consumption of sucrose water with > ... | 2000 | 10985039 |
| how do insects use path integration for their navigation? | we combine experimental findings on ants and bees, and build on earlier models, to give an account of how these insects navigate using path integration, and how path integration interacts with other modes of navigation. at the core of path integration is an accumulator. this is set to an initial state at the nest and is updated as the insect moves so that it always reports the insect's current position relative to the nest. navigation that uses path integration requires, in addition, a way of st ... | 2000 | 11007299 |
| a trail pheromone component of the ant mayriella overbecki viehmeyer (formicidae: myrmicinae). | the myrmicine ant mayriella overbecki lays recruitment trails during foraging and nest emigrations. the trail pheromone originates from the poison gland. from ten identified components of the poison gland secretions only methyl 6-methylsalicylate 1 elicited trail following behavior. | 2000 | 11013881 |
| orientation and navigation during adult transport between nests in the ant cataglypis iberica. | cataglyphis iberica is a polydomous ant species in which adult transports between nests are frequently observed. when pairs of workers were captured and released at the same location, the transporters (ts) field directly towards their destination nest and reached it in most of the cases. the transportees (te), on the other hand, fled in the opposite direction and only a third of them eventually reached their nest of departure. additional experiments suggest that this result may be explained by t ... | 2000 | 11013887 |
| seed drops and caches by the harvester ant messor barbarus: do they contribute to seed dispersal in mediterranean grasslands? | to determine whether the harvester ant messor barbarus acts as a seed disperser in mediterranean grasslands, the accuracy level of seed processing was assessed in the field by quantifying seed drops by loaded foragers. in the vicinity of exploited seed patches 3 times as many diaspores were found as in controls due to seed losses by foragers. over trails, up to 30% of harvested seeds were dropped, singly, by workers but all were recovered by nestmates within 24 h. seeds were also dropped within ... | 2000 | 11013892 |
| 2,3-dimethyl-5-(2-methylpropyl)pyrazine, a trail pheromone component of eutetramorium mocquerysi emery (1899) (hymenoptera: formicidae). | the ant eutetramorium mocquerysi (myrmicinae) is endemic to the island of madagascar. during foraging and nest emigration the ants lay recruitment trails with secretions from the poison gland. we identified three pyrazine compounds in the poison gland secretion: 2,3-dimethyl-5-(2-methylpropyl)pyrazine 1, 2,3-dimethyl-5-(3-methylbutyl)pyrazine 3, 2,3-dimethyl-5-(2-methylbutyl)pyrazine 4. only the first component elicited trail-following behavior in the ants. we were unable to investigate whether ... | 2000 | 11013893 |
| myrmecophily in hesperiidae. the case of vettius tertianus in ant gardens. | the larvae of the hesperiid butterfly vettius tertianus develop by eating the leaves of aechmea mertensii, a bromeliad epiphyte restricted to ant gardens. the relationships between ants and v. tertianus larvae highlight the preferential association of the caterpillars with pachycondyla goeldii (ponerinae), an ant-garden initiator. the oviposition strategy of v. tertianus may thus imply the identification of the inhabiting ant species and not only the identification of the host plant. the caterpi ... | 2000 | 11019365 |
| a molecular framework for the phylogeny of the ant subfamily dolichoderinae. | partial sequences are reported for the mitochondrial genes for cytochrome oxidase subunits 2 and 3 and for cytochrome b, and the entire sequence of the gene for trna(leu)(uur) for species from 14 genera of dolichoderine ants and from three outgroup genera. considerable variation was observed between trna genes in the size of the tpsic arm and the dhu and anticodon loops and whether or not the tpsic stem possesses a gc pair. the outgroup taxa showed complete taa co1 stop codons, but dolichoderine ... | 2000 | 11020309 |
| population biology of the potato tuber moth, phthorimaea operculella (lepidoptera: gelechiidae), in two potato cropping systems in israel. | the life cycle, within-field distribution, crop damage and impact of natural enemies of the potato tuber moth, phthorimaea operculella (zeller) were investigated in two potato cropping systems. the two systems differed in soil type (sandy vs. loess) which in turn affected the choice of cultivars, irrigation programme, insecticide application method (ground vs. aerial), and planting and harvest times. from mid-april to the end of may, almost twice as many moths were caught in pheromone traps in s ... | 2000 | 11020789 |
| systematic relationships and cospeciation of bacterial endosymbionts and their carpenter ant host species: proposal of the new taxon candidatus blochmannia gen. nov. | the systematic relationships of intracellular bacteria of 13 camponotus species (carpenter ants) from america and europe were compared to those of their hosts. phylogenetic trees of the bacteria and the ants were based on 16s rdna (rrs) gene sequences and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit i (coi) gene sequences, respectively. the bacterial endosymbionts of camponotus spp. form a distinct lineage in the y-subclass of the proteobacteria. the taxa most closely related to these bacteria are e ... | 2000 | 11034499 |
| germination and establishment of forest sedges (carex, cyperaceae): tests for home-site advantage and effects of leaf litter. | we investigated aspects of germination and seedling establishment that might influence the distribution and diversity of carex: species growing in the forest understory. we tested the ability of carex: communis and c. platyphylla to germinate and establish at plots where adult individuals of one of these two species, or one of two other carex: species (c. backii and c. plantaginea), occurred in an old-growth forest in southern québec, canada. we also tested for effects of leaf litter on germinat ... | 2000 | 11034927 |
| new insights into symbiotic associations between ants and bacteria. | many ants live in complex mutualistic or parasitic relationships with other insects or plants, some of which are classical examples of the mutual benefit of symbiosis. however, only in the past few years have new insights into the symbiosis of ants and microorganisms been reported. examples are the symbiosis of ants of the genus camponotus with intracellular bacteria present in their midgut, and the tripartite relationship of ants of the tribe attini with an extracellular bacterium essential for ... | 2000 | 11037129 |
| analysis of acoustic communication by ants. | an analysis is presented of acoustic communication by ants, based on near-field theory and on data obtained from the black imported fire ant solenopsis richteri and other sources. generally ant stridulatory sounds are barely audible, but they occur continuously in ant colonies. because ants appear unresponsive to airborne sound, myrmecologists have concluded that stridulatory signals are transmitted through the substrate. however, transmission through the substrate is unlikely, for reasons given ... | 2000 | 11051518 |
| induced indirect defence in a lycaenid-ant association: the regulation of a resource in a mutualism. | indirect defences involve the protection of a host organism by a mutualistic partner. threat of predation to the host organism may induce the production of rewards and/or signals that attract the mutualistic partner. in laboratory and field experiments we show that threatened lycaenid butterfly larvae (plebejus acmon) produce more nectar rewards from their gland and were tended by protective ants twice as much as controls. ant attendance did not affect the leaf consumption or feeding behaviour o ... | 2000 | 11052536 |
| ant tending influences soldier production in a social aphid. | the aphid pseudoregma sundanica (van der goot) (homoptera: aphididae) has two defence strategies. it is obligatorily tended by various species of ant and also produces sterile soldiers. we investigated how they allocate their investment in these two strategies. we measured the size, number of soldiers, number and species of tending ant, and number and species of predators in p. sundanica populations. we found that the level of ant tending correlated negatively with soldier investment in p. sunda ... | 2000 | 11052537 |
| management strategy, shade, and landscape composition effects on urban landscape plant quality and arthropod abundance. | intensity and type of management, the cultural variable shade, and the combination of woody and herbaceous annual and perennial plants were evaluated for their effect on key landscape arthropod pests. azalea lace bugs, stephanitis pyrioides (scott), and twolined spittlebugs, prosapia bicincta (say), were most effectively suppressed in landscape designed with resistant plant species of woody ornamentals and turf. landscapes containing susceptible plant counterparts were heavily infested by these ... | 2000 | 11057719 |
| evaluation of control measures for black carpenter ant (hymenoptera: formicidae). | current control methods for the black carpenter ant, camponotus pennsylvanicus (de geer), include the use of remedial and preventative residual sprays as well as toxic baits. we evaluated the acceptance of three baits (maxforce, niban, and baygon) to field colonies of the black carpenter ant in the spring and fall. maxforce bait granules were more readily accepted than either niban or baygon bait granules in the spring. a change in food preference from protein to sugar by the black carpenter ant ... | 2000 | 11057723 |
| structure and biology of stinging insect venom allergens. | bees, fire ants and vespids cause insect sting allergy. these insects have unique as well as common venom allergens. vespids, including hornets, paper wasps and yellow jackets, have common allergens. bees and vespids have one common allergen with hyaluronidase activity; they also have unique allergens with different phospholipase activities. fire ants and vespids have one common allergen, antigen 5 of unknown biologic activity. the common venom allergens with < 70% sequence identity have barely ... | 2000 | 11060481 |
| an antidiuretic factor in the forest ant: purification and physiological effects on the malpighian tubules. | formica polyctena antidiuretic factor (fopadf) was purified from a 15% trifluoroacetic acid (tfa) extract of the abdomens of 150,000 worker ants. after solid phase extraction of the crude extract and reversed-phase hplc on two c(18) columns, an antidiuretic factor was isolated. tested at a concentration of 1.0 ant-equivalents/µl (ant-eq/µl), the factor reversibly inhibited fluid secretion of isolated malpighian tubules to 29+/-5% (mean+/-se, n=24) of the control value. the same concentration of ... | 2001 | 11064025 |
| [stings, bites and other adventures...]. | most of us live in cities and nature seems beneficial. unfortunately, invertebrates and vertebrates may be aggressive. we will try here a review of the diseases caused by arthropods and other noxious animals. injuries caused by the following insects will be described: mosquitoes, flies, fleas, bees, wasps and ants, bugs, beetles, butterflies and caterpillars. in the class arachnida: spiders, scopions, ticks and mites. among invertebrates: leeches, anemons, corals, sea urchins, sponges and mollus ... | 2000 | 11068478 |
| a comparative study of the proventricular structure in corbiculate apinae (hymenoptera, apidae). | the present study compares the proventricular structure, analyzed under scanning electronic microscope (sem), among tribes of corbiculate apinae. fifty-one species of stingless bees (meliponini), one species of honeybee (apini), three species of bumblebees (bombini) and seven species of orchid bees (euglossini), were analyzed as in-group, and one species of sphecid wasp (sphecidae) and two species of halictidae bees, as out-groups. the proventricular bulb presents a basic morphology pattern simi ... | 2001 | 11070358 |
| a formicine in new jersey cretaceous amber (hymenoptera: formicidae) and early evolution of the ants. | a worker ant preserved with microscopic detail has been discovered in turonian-aged new jersey amber [ca. 92 mega-annum (ma)]. the apex of the gaster has an acidopore and, thus, allows definitive assignment of the fossil to the large extant subfamily formicinae, members of which use a defensive spray of formic acid. this specimen is the only cretaceous record of the subfamily, and only two other fossil ants are known from the cretaceous that unequivocally belong to an extant subfamily (brownimec ... | 2000 | 11078527 |
| josef bertrand catches some ants: unbiased random trajectories for the simulation of position effects in groups. | | 2000 | 11082300 |
| species discrimination and population differentiation in ants using microsatellites. | this study was conducted to establish the regional scale of population differentiation of ants in the wheat belt of central western new south wales. microsatellite variation was surveyed at five loci in two morphologically similar ant species (designated "a" and "b") from the camponotus ephippium complex. three of the five scored microsatellite loci were highly variable with totals, in the two species, of 11, 13 and 42 alleles. the other loci had two and three alleles. the mean number of alleles ... | 2001 | 11106840 |
| biogeography and community structure of north american seed-harvester ants. | seed-harvester ants are a dominant and conspicuous insect group throughout arid portions of the southwestern united states and northern mexico, and they include approximately 75 species. intense study in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to the paradigm that interspecific competition for limited seed resources is the primary factor that structures seed-harvester ant communities. this review attempts to adjust this paradigm, suggesting that interspecific competition for food is probably less imp ... | 2001 | 11112162 |
| mating behavior and chemical communication in the order hymenoptera. | insects of the order hymenoptera are biologically and economically important members of natural and agro ecosystems and exhibit diverse biologies, mating systems, and sex pheromones. we review what is known of their sex pheromone chemistry and function, paying particular emphasis to the hymenoptera aculeata (primarily ants, bees, and sphecid and vespid wasps), and provide a framework for the functional classification of their sex pheromones. sex pheromones often comprise multicomponent blends de ... | 2001 | 11112163 |
| chemical ecology and social parasitism in ants. | the chemical strategies by which parasites manage to break into the social fortresses of ants offer a fascinating theme in chemical ecology. semiochemicals used for interindividual nestmate recognition are also involved in the mechanisms of tolerance and association between the species, and social parasites exploit these mechanisms. the obligate parasites are odorless ("chemical insignificance") at the time of usurpation, like all other callow ants, and this "invisibility" enables their entry in ... | 2001 | 11112180 |
| colony dispersal and the evolution of queen morphology in social hymenoptera. | social hymenoptera show two contrasting strategies of colony reproduction. a reproductive female can raise the first generation of brood alone (independent foundation), or a colony can divide into autonomous parts in which the reproductive female is helped by sterile relatives (fission, budding, swarming). in independent-founding ants, queens can histolize their flight muscles after dispersal; in many species, large flight muscles and metabolic reserves reduce or eliminate the need for risky for ... | 2001 | 11112181 |
| alternative reproductive strategies: a queen perspective in ants. | ant colonies are commonly thought to have a stable and simple family structure, with one or a few egg-laying queens and their worker daughters. however, recent genetic studies reveal that the identity of breeding queens can vary over time within colonies. in several species, some queens are apparently specialized to enter established colonies instead of initiating a new colony on their own. the previously overlooked occurrence of queen turnover within colonies has important consequences not only ... | 2000 | 11114438 |
| wolbachia infections in native and introduced populations of fire ants (solenopsis spp.). | wolbachia are cytoplasmically inherited bacteria that induce a variety of effects with fitness consequences on host arthropods, including cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, male-killing and feminization. we report here the presence of wolbachia in native south american populations of the fire ant solenopsis invicta, but the apparent absence of the bacteria in introduced populations of this pest species in the usa. the wolbachia strains in native s. invicta are of two divergent types ( ... | 2000 | 11122476 |
| microsatellite markers for rhytidoponera metallica and other ponerine ants. | | 2000 | 11123662 |
| foraging behaviour of atta cephalotes (leaf-cutting ants): an examination of two predictions for load selection. | two mechanisms have been proposed to explain how colony-level foraging performance of leaf-cutting ants can be maximized when workers harvest leaf fragments of a size that does not maximize their individual performance. each mechanism predicts that ants will adjust the size of leaf fragments between starting a foraging bout and establishing full traffic between the nest and foraging site, but the two models predict shifts in opposite directions. i examined fragment sizes at the start of daily fo ... | 2000 | 11124876 |
| [ant venoms: a rare cause of allergic reactions in switzerland]. | in switzerland, unlike other countries, allergic reactions to ants are a rare phenomenon when compared to the well known allergies to bee and wasp venom. in this report we present a series of case reports and a review of the different types of allergy to ants. due to increased travel and heterogeneity of the population, we have observed several patients with sensitisation or allergy to the venom of imported fire ants (solenopsis), a species of ant found in the americas. furthermore, allergic rea ... | 2000 | 11130146 |
| molecular phylogeny of the large carpenter bees, genus xylocopa (hymenoptera: apidae), based on mitochondrial dna sequences. | carpenter bees, genus xylocopa latreille, a group of bees found on all continents, are of particular interest to behavioral ecologists because of their utility for studies of the evolution of mating strategies and sociality. this paper presents phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of two mitochondrial genes cytochrome oxidase 1 and cytochrome b for 22 subgenera of xylocopa. maximum-parsimony and maximum-likelihood methods were used to infer phylogenetic relationships. the analyses resulted i ... | 2000 | 11133195 |
| task-related variation of postpharyngeal and cuticular hydrocarbon compositions in the ant myrmicaria eumenoides. | in the ant myrmicaria eumenoides we investigated postpharyngeal and cuticular hydrocarbons. at eclosion the glands contained almost no hydrocarbons and there were no lipid inclusions in the glandular epithelium. during the first 3 weeks of adult life the amount of hydrocarbons in the gland increased until day 5, and then remained constant while the lipid content in the epithelium increased steadily. intracolonial hydrocarbon compositions were not uniform. compositions of post-pharyngeal and cuti ... | 2000 | 11138794 |
| characterizing the interaction between fire ants (hymenoptera: formicidae) and developing soybean plants. | this research characterizes the interaction between the fire ants solenopsis invicta buren and developing soybean plants. phagostimulant studies showed that fire ant foraging on soybean seeds increased once the seeds imbibed water. during seedling development over a 5-d germination period, fire ant foraging shifted from the stem/cotyledons to the roots, despite continual increases in fresh weights for each region, and the fact that stem/cotyledon tissue contained the majority of food reserves. c ... | 2000 | 11142298 |
| sperm ultrastructure of the honey bee (apis mellifera) (l) (hymenoptera, apidae) with emphasis on the nucleus-flagellum transition region. | the flagellum of apis mellifera (hymenoptera, apidae) consists of two mitochondrial derivatives, an axoneme and two accessory bodies. the mitochondrial derivatives are of unequal size and lie parallel to the axoneme. in the larger derivative four regions can be distinguished while in the smaller, only three. the region occurring only in the larger derivative consists of paracystalline material. the smaller mitochondrial derivative terminates anterior to the larger one. an extremely long centriol ... | 2000 | 11145015 |
| garden sharing and garden stealing in fungus-growing ants. | fungi cultivated by fungus-growing ants (attini: formicidae) are passed on between generations by transfer from maternal to offspring nest (vertical transmission within ant species). however, recent phylogenetic analyses revealed that cultivars are occasionally also transferred between attine species. the reasons for such lateral cultivar transfers are unknown. to investigate whether garden loss may induce ants to obtain a replacement cultivar from a neighboring colony (lateral cultivar transfer ... | 2000 | 11151668 |