Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.
The greater yellowlegs is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
Atta is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains at least 17 known species.
Paraponera clavata, commonly known as the bullet ant, is a species of ant known for its extremely painful sting. It inhabits humid lowland rainforests in Central and South America.
Leafcutter ants are fungus-growing ants that share the behaviour of cutting leaves which they carry back to their nests to farm fungus. Next to humans, leafcutter ants form some of the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth. In a few years, the central mound of their underground nests can grow to more than 30 m (98 ft) across, with smaller radiating mounds extending out to a radius of 80 m (260 ft), taking up 30 to 600 m2 and converted into 3.55 m individuals.
Fungus-growing ants comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on which they later feed.
Myrmecia is a genus of ants first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. The genus is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. Myrmecia is a large genus of ants, comprising at least 93 species that are found throughout Australia and its coastal islands, while a single species is only known from New Caledonia. One species has been introduced out of its natural distribution and was found in New Zealand in 1940, but the ant was last seen in 1981. These ants are commonly known as bull ants, bulldog ants or jack jumper ants, and are also associated with many other common names. They are characterized by their extreme aggressiveness, ferocity, and painful stings. Some species are known for the jumping behavior they exhibit when agitated.
Atta sexdens is a species of leafcutter ant belonging to the tribe Attini, native to America, from the southern United States (Texas) to northern Argentina. They are absent from Chile. They cut leaves to provide a substrate for the fungus farms which are their principal source of food. Their societies are among the most complex found in social insects. A. sexdens is an ecologically important species, but also an agricultural pest. Other Atta species, such as Atta texana, Atta cephalotes and others, have similar behavior and ecology.
Formica truncorum is a species of wood ant from the genus Formica. It is distributed across a variety of locations worldwide, including central Europe and Japan. Workers can range from 3.5 to 9.0mm and are uniquely characterized by small hairs covering their entire bodies. Like all other ants, F. truncorum is eusocial and demonstrates many cooperative behaviors that are unique to its order. Colonies are either monogynous, with one queen, or polygynous, with many queens, and these two types of colonies differ in many characteristics.
Slave-making ants or slaver ants are brood parasites that capture broods of other ant species to increase the worker force of their colony. After emerging in the slave-maker nest, slave workers work as if they were in their own colony, while parasite workers only concentrate on replenishing the labor force from neighboring host nests, a process called slave raiding.
Dolichoderus attelaboides is a species of ant in the genus Dolichoderus. Described by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775, the species is endemic to Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
Dolichoderus bidens is a species of ant in the genus Dolichoderus. Described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, the species is endemic to Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
Camponotus herculeanus is a species of ant in the genus Camponotus, the carpenter ants, occurring in Northern Eurasia, from Norway to Eastern Siberia, and North America. First described as Formica herculeana by Linnaeus in 1758, the species was moved to Camponotus by Mayr in 1861.
This is a glossary of terms used in the descriptions of ants.
Cryptus is a large genus of wasps in the family Ichneumonidae with 182 described species.
Orchestes fagi , beech leaf-miner beetle, is a species of weevil native to Europe. The larvae mine the leaves of beech. It is an invasive species in Canada where it is damaging to American beech.
Milesia semiluctifera is a species of hoverfly in the family Syrphidae.
