Carebara diversa

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East Indian harvesting ant
GRF PheidologetonDiversus 01.jpg
C. diversa attacking a mealworm
Scientific classification
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C. diversa
Binomial name
Carebara diversa [1]
(Jerdon, 1851)
Synonyms
  • Ocodoma diversa [2]
  • Pheidoloegeton diversus
  • Myrmica politaSmith, F. 1860, 1860
  • Pheidole megacephalaSmith, F., 1860
  • Pheidole megacephalotesDalla Torre, 1892
  • Pheidole militarisSmith, F., 1860
  • Pheidole ocelliferaSmith, F., 1858
  • Pheidole pabulatorSmith, F., 1860

Carebara diversa (common name East Indian harvesting ant), [1] [3] is a species of marauder ant widely distributed throughout Asia. [2] [4] [5]

Contents

Description

C diversa is a eusocial insect and individuals have continuous allometric variation in size and morphology to facilitate task allocation and partitioning of work. Minor workers are between 1.3 and 2.5 mm in length, but major workers are much larger. Between the smallest minor and largest major workers there are many intermediate forms. The largest workers can have heads approximately 12 times as large as those of their smallest counterparts. The dry weight of a large major worker can be approximately 550 times as heavy of that of its smallest counterpart. These size-related morphological differences correspond with their division of labor. For example, small, young, minor workers specialize in caring for the larvae but extend their activities as they grow older. [2]

Allometric variation of the East Indian Harvesting Ant PheidologetonCastes.jpg
Allometric variation of the East Indian Harvesting Ant

Minor workers have yellowish brown to reddish brown bodies. Their mandibles each have five "teeth" and their antennal scapes are short and do not exceed the posterior margin of the head. Minor workers have rectangular heads with weakly convex posterior margins in full face view [2]

Major workers have reddish brown to blackish brown bodies. Their heads are proportionately larger and almost square with convex posterior margin in frontal view. Mandibles of major workers are large and triangular, with an acute apical "tooth". Their masticatory margins lack distinct "teeth". Their eyes are relatively small and their antennal scapes are half as long as their heads. [2]

Behavior

C. diversa forms large colonies which are often found in soil or under rocks. This species preys on small animals such as insects and also collects nectivorous materials. These ants regularly form long columns for foraging and sometimes roof these trails with arcades constructed of soil particles. [2] They use pheromone trails to maintain these lines and if these trails are obstructed it causes chaos and crowding. One study showed that 94% of individuals failed to cross an obstacle in the foraging path and that eventually the column creates a detour around such obstructions. [6] The minors of this species are often observed to be 'hitching a ride' on the large majors so as to save energy while moving along the trail.

Differences between Carebara species and real army ants

Due to their raids, Carebara species are often compared to army ants, but there are some important differences:

Contradictory reports about aggressivity

Carebara species have been described as very aggressive when hunting or defending their nest, but there are contradictory reports about how they react to other ant species: Generally, Carebara species are said to avoid fights with other ant species (a keeper has reported he almost lost his colony to a Lasius niger invasion and watched Carebara evading smaller Pheidole pieli, but a keeper who intentionally kept C. diversa with a Crematogaster species in the same terrarium reported that Carebara workers had attacked and killed Crematogaster workers. Carebara supermajor castes can tear off human skin and can rip out flesh. [ citation needed ]

Range

C. diversa is widely distributed from India through Southeast Asia to Taiwan and the Philippines. [2] [5] Field records of it occurring in Japan are limited although it has been found on two very southern points: Okinawa Island and on Chicchi-jima Island. Specimens taken at the Camp Zama U.S. Air Force base in Kanagawa Prefecture are believed to have originated from commercial introduction from Southeast Asia. [2]

Subspecies

Keeping in a formicarium

Regarded as "pseudo-army-ants", Carebara diversa and Carebara affinis are popular pets, but they are said to be very sensitive and difficult to keep; even some experienced antkeepers have lost their colonies just after a few months. One antkeeper who goes by the YouTube name AntsCanada however, has managed to successfully keep a thriving colony of this species, among the other colonies of ants in his collection. [7]
It seems not possible to keep real army ants in a formicarium (ant farm) for a longer time because of their nomadic lifestyle, the continuous growth of the colony, and the immense need of food (some army-ant species are also highly selective when it comes to food). In trials performed by zoos and museums, the army-ant colonies died within weeks or months.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Charles Bequaert</span>

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<i>Carebara</i> Genus of ants

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Georg Fischer, Frank Azorsa, Brian Fisher (2014). "The ant genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): synonymisation of Pheidologeton Mayr under Carebara, establishment and revision of the C. polita species group". ZooKeys (438): 57–112. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.438.7922 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   4155725 . PMID   25197219.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Japanese Ant Database Group". Archived from the original on 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
  3. "Sri Lanka Species Database". CHM Sri Lanka. 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  4. myrmecos.net: Pheidologeton (marauder ants) Archived 2009-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 The Ants of Africa: Pheidologeton diversus (Jerdon) Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine
  6. The Response Behavior of Ant Pheidologeton diversus on Encountering an Obstacle Along Its Trail
  7. "New Ant Colony: Massive Super Majors". YouTube. May 6, 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15.

Further reading