By Laure-Anne Poissonnier Insect societies have long been part of the human imagination. Ants appear, for example, in fables, tales, and science fiction novels. They are often attributed to human qualities: the ant is hardworking, selfless, and well organized. It is true that when one observes an ant colony, one is forced to marvel at…
Tag: ants
The memory of the desert ants
Odometer at Cataglyphis Fortis The Cataglyphis Fortis have the ability to return to the nest although they are in complete darkness. How do they estimate the distance to which the nest is located, and this in a straight line? A team of Swiss scientists led by Matthias Wittlinger (link) showed that the ant estimates the…
Parthenogenesis in insects: synthesis
by Benoit GILLES In order for them to multiply, nature has endowed living organisms with a wide diversity of reproductive systems. In insects, one of these strategies is parthenogenesis. This is based on the development of individuals from unfertilized gametes, thus without the need for fertilization. This strategy is interesting for more than one reason:…
Colobopsis explodens: a detonating ant!!
In the already surprisingly diverse world of ants: morphology, behaviour, adaptation and ecology (read these articles Cataglyphis ; Atta ; Eciton ; Cephalotes ; Force), is added the description of a new species to the capacity of the most singular, that of being able to be literally exploded as a means of defense ! Described…
Escovopsis : Parasitism in mushroomists ants
Post Views: 2,310 Mushroom ants have the particularity of feeding exclusively on a Basidiomycete fungus, which they grow on a substrate fed by the collection
The power of the Cataglyphs of the desert
Post Views: 2,056 Desert ants of the species Cataglyphis bombycina live in environments with extreme temperature conditions. In the middle of the day, despite an
Mushroomists Ants of the genus Atta
Post Views: 2,911 The species of ants known as “mushroom ants” or “leafcutters” belong mainly to the genera Atta and Acromyrmex (family Formicidae and subfamily
How strong does an ant develop?
Post Views: 1,756 We have all seen ants at work: they have the ability to lift and carry mass loads several times their own. The
Presentation of my ant colonies
Post Views: 1,985 As you can read in my various articles, I have been breeding several species of insects for many years, including colonies of
Ants of the genus Cephalotes
Post Views: 2,511 Presentation of a species of ants encountered during my stay at STRI au Panama Flying ants of the genus Cephalotes Ants of
