awild | June 3, 2009...to the quiz.
1. Myrmica fracticornis undescribed species
2. Tetramorium "sp. E." (formerly, T. caespitum)
3. Lasius neoniger
4. Tapinoma sessile
5. Myrmecina americana
6. Pheidole pilifera
Most of these were straightforward, but the Myrmica and the Lasius required as much luck as skill to pick correctly given what was visible in the photographs. The Lasius is indeed covered with the fine hairs that distinguish L. neoniger from L. alienus, but these are nearly impossible to see against the white backdrop.
Identifying Myrmica to species requires examining the shape of the base of the…
awild | May 31, 2009The following ants are all found in my yard here in suburban Illinois. What are they?
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
I'll post answers on Tuesday. If you're lost, try here.
awild | May 29, 2009A new exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, D. C. opens this Saturday and runs through October. The displays will include a live leafcutter colony, photographs by Mark Moffett, and casts of real nests by Walter Tschinkel. Should be worth checking out if you're in the area. Details here.
awild | May 29, 2009Who says we can't have both beetles and Pheidole on Friday?
A South African Sap Beetle (Nitidulidae) reacts to a swarm of Pheidole megacephala by retracting its legs and antennae, leaving little exposed but smooth chitin. The ants have difficulty finding anything their mandibles can grab, even if they have the tank-like beetle surrounded.
photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D
ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f13, flash diffused through tracing paper
awild | May 28, 2009
Aptinoma antongil Fisher 2009
Brian Fisher has a paper out in Zootaxa this week describing a pair of new ant genera from Madagascar. Aptinoma and Ravavy are small ants in the subfamily dolichoderinae related to Tapinoma and Technomyrmex. Apparently, the backstory on these new ants is that ongoing genetic research from the Ant Tree of Life project revealed some Malagasy specimens to be rather distantly related to any of the previously described genera. On closer morphological inspection, Fisher found several differences that allow for the new genera to be reliably diagnosed.
Yet…
awild | May 28, 2009
A queen and worker Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, pose for a photograph near Córdoba, Argentina.
photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D
ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f13, flash diffused through tracing paper
awild | May 26, 2009
Ectatomma brunneum, Argentina
photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D
ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f13, flash diffused through tracing paper
awild | May 25, 2009My apologies for the lack of posts. Life and work are conspiring this week to make blogging difficult. In the meantime, here's what's new in ants on the internet:
Roberto Keller explains the clypeus.
PLoS One reports that ant-dispersed plant lineages diversify more rapidly than ant-free relatives.
FlickR user Rundstedt B. Rovillos posts a lovely photo of an Oecophylla foundress.
Myrmecological News publishes a set of new articles today.
The Ant Farm Forum poses a challenging Name That Ant.
awild | May 22, 2009
Astylus atromaculatus (Melyridae), Argentina
The spotted maize beetle Astylus atromaculatus is native to subtropical South America but has spread to warm regions in other parts of the world. In late summer, adults congregate on flowers to mate and feed on pollen.
photo details (all photos): Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D
ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/11-f13, flash diffused through tracing paper
awild | May 20, 2009
I photographed this weird...sluggy thing, I guess you could say, in an ant nest in subtropical Argentina.Â
Ten points to the first person who picks what it is.
awild | May 20, 2009
In California, the pesty ant that invaded our kitchen was the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). In Tucson, we had South American rover ants (Brachymyrmex patagonicus). Here in Illinois, our kitchen ant is a native species, Tapinoma sessile. At any given moment we probably have two or three wandering about our countertops.
The common name for this small brown insect is the Odorous House Ant, a reference to both the strong blue-cheesy odor these ants emit when crushed and to their habit of foraging indoors for food. They don't normally nest indoors, though, they prefer to be outdoors…
awild | May 19, 2009
The summer insect season is upon us here in temperate North America, and with it comes the need for good identification guides.
Before I begin, a cautionary note. We have so many species on our continent that were we to create a bird-type guide that listed all the insects, with their ranges and identifying characteristics, the full set would span at least 30 volumes.  Any book small enough to carry into the field necessarily omits more than 95% of the relevant animals. Insect guides are understandably neurotic and overwhelmed compared to the corresponding bird and plant guides, and it…
awild | May 19, 2009I took my shiny new Canon 50D out for a spin this weekend, and along the railroad tracks I found a worthy myrmecological subject: Crematogaster feeding at the swollen nectaries of an Ailanthus Tree of Heaven. Ailanthus is an introduced Asian tree that's gone weedy across much of North America. Our local ants don't seem to mind, though, it's extra snack food for them.
awild | May 18, 2009It seems my barcoding rant from last week has caught the eye of Alex Smith of the University of Guelph. Alex is the force behind numerous DNA barcoding projects, including the pioneering study on Malagasy trap-jaw ants, and I have elevated his reply from the comments:
Hi Alex â happened by myrmecos this morning, saw your essay and the comments that have piled up over the past several days and couldnât help add my two cents.
1) A barcode is a epistemological tool, an âevaluation criteriaâ for identification and can act as a catalyst for discovery. It is not an ontological truth that defines…
awild | May 15, 2009
Pheidole rosae, major worker, Entre Rios, Argentina
At the nest entrance
photo details: Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS 20D
ISO 100, 1/250 sec, f/13, flash diffused through tracing paper