Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants appear in the fossil record across the globe in considerable diversity during the latest Early Cretaceous and early Late Cretaceous, suggesting an earlier origin. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period, and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.
Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus Solenopsis. They are, however, only a minority in the genus, which includes over 200 species of Solenopsis worldwide. Solenopsis are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many species also are called red ants because of their light brown color, though species of ants in many other genera are similarly named for similar reasons. Examples include Myrmica rubra and Pogonomyrmex barbatus.
Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies, with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species.
The Yuma Desert is a lower-elevation section of the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States and the northwest of Mexico. It lies in the Salton basin. The desert contains areas of sparse vegetation and has notable areas of sand dunes. With an average rainfall less than 8 inches (200 mm) each year, this is among the harshest deserts in North America. Human presence is sparse throughout, the largest city being Yuma, Arizona, on the Colorado River and the border of California.
Task allocation and partitioning is the way that tasks are chosen, assigned, subdivided, and coordinated within a colony of social insects. Task allocation and partitioning gives rise to the division of labor often observed in social insect colonies, whereby individuals specialize on different tasks within the colony. Communication is closely related to the ability to allocate tasks among individuals within a group. This entry focuses exclusively on social insects. For information on human task allocation and partitioning, see division of labour, task analysis, and workflow.
Roy R. Snelling was an internationally renowned American entomologist who studied Hymenoptera, mainly ants, wasps and bees. He was the emeritus collections manager at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County where he worked for over 30 years, joining the museum in 1963 and retiring in 1993. He dedicated his professional life to making insect biodiversity better known and appreciated.
Yucca glauca is a species of perennial evergreen plant, adapted to xeric (dry)growth conditions. It is also known as small soapweed, soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet, and Great Plains yucca.
Myrmecocystus is a North American genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. It is one of five genera that includes honeypot ants. Worker ants keep and tend plerergates, which are other ants that store large quantities of nutritious fluid in their abdomens to feed the colony during famine times.. Some species engage in highly territorial tournaments, which can result in intraspecific slavery. During the raids, they carry off larvae, workers, and plerergates.
Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, or the western harvester ant, is a species of ant that inhabits the deserts and arid grasslands of the American West at or below 6,300 feet (1,900 m). Like other harvester ants in the genus Pogonomyrmex, it is so called because of its habit of collecting edible seeds and other food items. The specific epithet "occidentalis", meaning "of the west", refers to the fact that it is characteristic of the interior of the Western United States; its mounds of gravel, surrounded by areas denuded of plant life, are a conspicuous feature of rangeland. When numerous, they may cause such loss of grazing plants and seeds, as to constitute both a severe ecological and economic burden. They have a painful and venomous sting.
Myrmecocystus mexicanus is a species of ant in the genus Myrmecocystus, which is one of the six genera that bear the common name "honey ant" or "honeypot ant", due to curious behavior where some of the workers will swell with liquid food until they become immobile and hang from the ceilings of nest chambers, acting as living food storage for the colony. Honey ants are found in North America, Australia, and Africa. Ant species belonging to the genus Myrmecocystus reside in North America. M. mexicanus in particular is found in the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico.
Dorymyrmex bicolor is a species of ant in the Dolichoderinae subfamily. Dorymyrmex bicolor was recently known as Conomyrma bicolor but has been renamed to Dorymyrmex bicolor. Dorymyrmex bicolor has a single petiole and a slit-like orifice which releases chemical compounds. This ant does not have the capability to sting. Dorymyrmex bicolor is primarily found in arid desert regions in Central and South America and the southwestern United States.
Myrmecocystus mimicus is a North American species of ant in the genus Myrmecocystus. The species is widely distributed, from Kansas south to Texas and Mexico, and west to California.
Myrmecocystus testaceus is a species of ant. Found throughout southern United States, this species of ant is usually nocturnal, and nests in sand.
Cataglyphis iberica is a species of desert ant found in the Iberian Peninsula. It was described by Carlo Emery in 1906.
Myrmecocystus wheeleri is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Lasiini is a tribe of ants in the family Formicidae. There are about 10 genera and more than 450 described species in Lasiini.
Myrmecocystus placodops is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Myrmecocystus kennedyi is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
Myrmecocystus mendax is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It occurs in Mexico and Southwestern United States.
Myrmecocystus semirufus is a species of ant in the family Formicidae.
