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 antbirds are a large passerine bird family, Thamnophilidae, found across subtropical and tropical Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina. There are more than 230 species, known variously as antshrikes, antwrens, antvireos, fire-eyes, bare-eyes and bushbirds. They are related to the antthrushes and antpittas, the tapaculos, the gnateaters and the ovenbirds. Despite some species' common names, this family is not closely related to the wrens, vireos or shrikes.
Dorylinae is an ant subfamily, with distributions in both the Old World and New World. Brady et al. (2014) synonymized the previous dorylomorph subfamilies under Dorylinae., while Borowiec (2016) reviewed and revised the genera, resurrecting many genera which had previously been merged. Dorylinae genera are suggested to have evolved sometime between 102 to 74 million years ago, subsequently undergoing rapid adaptive radiation events during their early history.
Dorylus, also known as driver ants, safari ants, or siafu, is a large genus of army ants found primarily in central and east Africa, although the range also extends to southern Africa and tropical Asia. The term siafu is a loanword from Swahili, and is one of numerous similar words from regional Bantu languages used by indigenous peoples to describe various species of these ants. Unlike the New World members of the former subfamily Ecitoninae, members of this genus form temporary subterranean bivouacs in underground cavities which they excavate and inhabit - either for a few days or up to three months. Also unlike some New World army ants, driver ants are not specialized predators of other species of ant, instead being more generalistic with a diet consisting of a diversity of arthropods. Colonies are enormous compared to other army ants and can contain over 20 million individuals. As with their American counterparts, workers exhibit caste polymorphism with the soldiers having particularly large heads that power their scissor-like mandibles. They are capable of stinging, but very rarely do so, relying instead on their powerful shearing jaws. Driver ant queens are the largest living ants known, with the largest measuring between 40 - 63 millimeters in total body length depending on their physiological condition.
A bivouac is a structure formed by migratory driver ant and army ant colonies, such as the species Eciton burchellii. A nest is constructed out of the living ant workers' own bodies to protect the queen and larvae, and is later deconstructed as the ants move on.
The name army ant (or legionary ant or marabunta) is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limited area.
The flame-colored tanager, formerly known as the stripe-backed tanager, is a medium-sized American songbird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is found from Mexico throughout Central America to northern Panama and occasionally in the United States; four subspecies are recognized. The flame-colored tanager is 18 to 19 cm long, the male having predominantly red-orange while the female is more yellowish orange.
Ant mimicry or myrmecomorphy is mimicry of ants by other organisms. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potential predators that rely on vision to identify their prey, such as birds and wasps, normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Spiders are the most common ant mimics. Additionally, some arthropods mimic ants to escape predation, while others mimic ants anatomically and behaviourally to hunt ants in aggressive mimicry. Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves; the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid Cretaceous alongside the earliest ants. Indeed one of the earliest, Burmomyrma, was initially classified as an ant.
Ecitoninae is an ant subfamily.
Eciton hamatum is a species of army ant in the subfamily Dorylinae; it is found from Mexico to central Brazil and Bolivia. The species differs from Eciton burchellii, in that it does not fan out into the underbrush when foraging. Rather, it forages in columns, often in trees and preying exclusively on the larvae of other social insects. Its prey are often broods of vespid wasps and ants of genera Dolichoderus and Camponotus, suggesting that E. hamatum is mainly an arboreal forager.
Eciton is a New World army ant genus that contains the most familiar species of army ants. The most predominant and well-known species is Eciton burchellii, which is also more commonly known as the army ant and is considered the type species.
Eciton vagans is a species of New World army ant in the genus Eciton. It occurs in dry and wet forest habitats, occupying a range extending from Mexico to throughout Costa Rica and possibly Panama and Colombia. Raids are always in columns and are distinguished in being usually nocturnal; preferred prey commonly include other ants. It is closely related to the Eciton burchellii species.
The ocellated antbird is a species of antbird in the family Thamnophilidae. It is monotypic within the genus Phaenostictus and is found in southern Central America and the northwestern part of South America. Its natural habitat is the understory of tropical moist lowland forest, foothill forest, and tall secondary growth woodlands.
Myrmecophagy is a feeding behavior defined by the consumption of termites or ants, particularly as pertaining to those animal species whose diets are largely or exclusively composed of said insect types. Literally, myrmecophagy means "ant-eating" rather than "termite eating". The two habits often overlap, as both of these eusocial insect types often live in large, densely populated nests requiring similar adaptations in the animal species that exploit them.
Ant followers are birds that feed by following swarms of army ants and take prey flushed by those ants. The best-known ant-followers are 18 species of antbird in the family Thamnophilidae, but other families of birds may follow ants, including thrushes, chats, ant-tanagers, cuckoos, motmots, and woodcreepers.
Carebara diversa, is a species of marauder ant widely distributed throughout Asia.
Carl W. Rettenmeyer was an American biologist who specialised in army ants. He was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and later attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He first became interested in army ants when he visited Panama as an undergraduate and then returned there as a postgraduate. Although he studied many aspects of army ant biology, he particularly focused on the animals associated with the ants and especially mites which live on the ants. He was well known for his photography of army ants, with his photographs appearing in over 100 publications, and he used his video footage to create two DVDs. He taught at the University of Kansas from 1960 until 1971 and then at the University of Connecticut until his retirement in 1996, after being diagnosed with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. After his death in 2009, a set of papers on army ants were published in Insectes Sociaux in memory of his work.
Neivamyrmex is a genus of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae.
Nymphister kronaueri is a species of histerid beetle native to Costa Rica. It was first discovered in 2014. The discovery of the beetle received much media attention due to its unusual habit of hitchhiking on army ants. It was formally described in 2017.
Neivamyrmex sumichrasti is a species of doryline army ant in the genus Neivamyrmex. It is found in Central America, from southern Mexico to Costa Rica.
