Pogonomyrmex californicus

Pogonomyrmex californicus
P. californicus worker from Arizona
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Genus:	Pogonomyrmex
Species:	P. californicus
Binomial name
Pogonomyrmex californicus Cole, 1968

Pogonomyrmex californicus, or the California harvester ant, ^[1] is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is native to North America, where it is found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. ^[2] It is known as the ant species which is used by Uncle Milton's Ant Farm. ^[3]

Biology

Pogonomyrmex californicus can be found in open, warm, and sandy areas. It typically forages during the day, both individually or in a group, forming columns as they work. It preys on arthropods, such as the larvae of the raisin moth ( Cadra figulilella ) and collects seeds. It can form colonies of hundreds of individuals. The nest entrances are often irregular and are surrounded by loose sand arranged in a circular or semi-circular pattern. Reproduction occurs around July, when reproducing individuals are present. ^[2]

Polygynous colonies

Pogonomyrmex californicus are known to be facultatively polygynous, where colonies will occasionally contain multiple queens. ^[4] Most colonies are founded and sustained by one queen, but nests have been noted to contain multiple queens in a cooperative, a phenomenon known as pleometrosis. ^[2] Colonies with multiple queens have been found to have higher average heat tolerance and less variation in heat tolerance, allowing for longer foraging times and an advantage over competitors with lower heat tolerances. The reason for the difference in heat tolerance between single-queen and multiple-queen colonies is unknown, although there are several theories for the disparity. ^[4]

Range

Pogonomyrmex californicus is found in the United States in Texas and Utah, and in the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora, and Chihuahua. ^[2]

Chumash use as hallucinogen

The Chumash people of California would sometimes use the species as an entheogen with which to initiate boys into manhood. The consumption of these ants was considered a safer method of inducing visions than the more usual method employed which involved the drinking of a brew prepared from the deliriant herb Datura wrightii . The ants were swallowed alive on eagle down and the venom injected in the stings that they inflicted on the mouths and throats of the boys would cause them to hallucinate. Around 250 ants constituted an effective dose. ^[5]

References

1. A Dictionary of Entomology. CABI. 2011. p. 244. ISBN   978-1-84593-542-9.
2. Lubertazzi, D.; G. Alpert (2010). "Pogonomyrmex californicus Buckley". Navajonature.org. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
3. Hevesi, D. (January 29, 2011). "Milton M. Levine, 97, Inventor of Ant Farm, Dies". The New York Times . Retrieved 31 January 2011.
4. Baudier, Kaitlyn M.; Ostwald, Madeleine M.; Haney, Brian R.; Calixto, Juliana M.; Cossio, Frank J.; Fewell, Jennifer H. (August 2022). "Social Factors in Heat Survival: Multiqueen Desert Ant Colonies Have Higher and More Uniform Heat Tolerance" (PDF). Physiological and Biochemical Zoology . 95 (5): 379–389 – via The University of Chicago Press Journals.
5. Adams, J. D. Jr.; Garcia, C. (2005). "Spirit, Mind and Body in Chumash Healing". Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2 (4): 459–463. doi:10.1093/ecam/neh130. PMC   1297503 . PMID   16322802.

External links

• Media related to Pogonomyrmex californicus at Wikimedia Commons