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Ants Life |
Ants of Cachoeira Nature Reserve
(5/5)
◆ Tapinoma page posted 2007/6/7 02:46
Tapinoma atriceps from Cachoeira Nature Reserve, Brazil.
◆ Linepithema page posted 2007/3/21 08:00
I have posted a page with species of Linepithema: Linepithema iniquum, Linepithema leucomelas and Linepithema pulex.
◆ Hypoponera page updated 2007/2/26 04:30
I have updated the page on Hypoponera. Changed H. JHB03 to H. foreli and JHB13 to H. opaciceps. Thanks to Alex Wild for pointing that out.
◆ Strumigenys page posted 2007/2/25 08:00
Posted a page on Strumigenys of Cachoeira Nature Reserve. Images and notes on the following species: S. elongata, S. gytha and S. louisianae.
◆ Launch of redesigned site 2007/2/22 08:00
Today we launched the redesigned site. Thanks to Stefan Scharf!
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Amphibia-Reptilia |
Latest Issue of Amphibia-Reptilia
(16/16)
Wed Jul 16 01:35:05 GMT+00:00 2008
◆ Field body temperatures of the amphisbaenid lizard Blanus cinereus Martin, Jose
◆ Ciclo espermatogenico de dos especies de Telmatobius del Noroeste Argentino Montero, Ricardo
◆ The effects of temperature on prey handling time in the common lizard, Lacerta vivipara Avery, R.A.
◆ Comparative morphology of the adrenal gland in some species belonging to the family Lacertidae Laforgia, V.
◆ El genero Acanthodactylus en Marruecos: problemas de identificacion en los grupos de especies A. pardalis y A. scutellatus Mellado, Jesus
◆ Tests for sexual isolation among sympatric salamanders of the genus Desmognathus Verrell, Paul A.
◆ A comparison of size and body weights of common toads (Bufo bufo) from two sites in Southern England Reading, C.J.
◆ The male reproductive cycle of the rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus) Aldridge, Robert D.
◆ Body size and spermatophore production in the smooth newt (Triturus. vulgaris) Baker, J.M.R.
◆ A karyological study of the tortoise Testudo marginata Belcheva, R.G.
◆ Electrophoretic data supporting the specific rank of the frog Rana graeca italica Dubois, 1985 Picariello, Orfeo
◆ The use of acridine orange for age-determination of Rana perezi based on annual rings in phalanges Juarranz, Angeles
◆ Morphologie comparee des hybrides de Vipera seoanei Lataste, 1879 x Vipera aspis (L.) Girons, H. Saint
◆ Do gravid females of oviparous gekkonid lizards maintain elevated body temperatures? Hemidactylus frenatus and Lepidodactylus lugubris on Oahu Werner, Yehudah L.
◆ Book Reviews
◆ SEH News
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Ant Farms
Children love to have pets and some of them can be more fun than others. A very affordable type of pet is a collection of ants. This is commonly referred to as an ant farm. You will get all of the items you need to set it up for a very low price. Many teachers have them in the classroom to share with the children as well. Ants are tiny creatures but they can be very entertaining.
One of the things people are often curious about with ants is what they do under the ground. There is plenty of activity that takes place in any given ant colony. With an ant farm you can see what is going on so this is a very educational type of set up as well. You will be able to see where they store their food, how they dig their tunnels, interactions among ants, and even the efforts they make to clean up their areas.
You can collect and place any types of ants into this set up that you want. You will find ant farms come in many sizes so you can have a small colony or a very large one. Should your child get tired of the ant farm you can easily turn them loose outside. This is much easier than having to find a new home for them like you would need to with most other types of animals.
Take some time to read information about the various types of ant farms offered. This way you can be sure to invest in something that will be easy to set up. You also want something that is fun to look at. It should give you a very good view of all the various activities taking place inside of the ant farm.
This can make a perfect gift for any child at least five years of age. This way they can explore the options of having pets. Since ants are very social you want to have a good number of them in there. Having an ant farm is fun, educational, and it can teach a child all about responsibility. You can get an ant farm at just about any pet shop and many retailers sale them as well.
Ants
Ants are really fascinating insects even though most people just think of them as a nuisance. They are extremely hard workers and they have detailed colonies under ground. Each of the ants has a particular job to do and they do it very well. They are able to carry many times their body weight and that has fascinated researchers for decades.
There are more than 12,000 different species of ants out there and they are found in locations all over the world. Some of them are very small and brown in color. They tend not to be very harmful at all. Other species of ants including the fire ants are larger and they do bite. They will cause the skin to burn and to become red and inflamed.
Ants are able to communicate with each other in a variety of different ways. They give off a type of chemical called pheromones that allow them to send and interpret messages to each other. They also communicate using their keen sense of smell that occurs with the use of their antennas. Researchers have been able to identify may learned behaviors among ants that are similar to how humans learn from each other.
For the most part, ants are harmless but they will bite and attack if they feel threatened. It can be very difficult to get rid of ants once they have invaded your home. It is fascinating to watch them though. They march in a straight line and you may see a group of them going out with food and more coming in to get them. There are some very simple ways to get rid of them without poison though. You can draw a line on window sills with chalk. They won't cross that chalk line and they will stay outdoors.
If you want to get rid of ant colonies you can likely do it by pouring very hot water down into the colony. You will need to do this several times before all of it is destroyed. Covering the area up with dirty isn't effective as the ants are likely to be able to dig out of it by communicating and working together.
Carpenter Ants
Most species of ants live outdoors but you will find some that come into the home. Carpenter ants are the most common and they can be very annoying. Since they reproduce quickly your home may soon become infested by them. They are mainly black in color and seem to be very tolerant of ant traps and poisons that people put out to kill them.
Some of various species have wings on them as well so they can be misidentified as other types of insects. They are often mistaken for termites because the can be found in the wood of your home. They also like moist areas so they tend to be in the kitchen and the bathrooms.
In order to get rid of carpenter ants, you will need to find out where their nests are. With hundreds of eggs being laid each day by the queen ants, you don't want to wait to get started. You may want to try to get rid of them on your own. You can leave out food for the ants and then follow their trail back to the colony. Dabs of honey that are left out will definitely attract their attention.
Boric acid is one of the most effective ways to kill them. Track them back to the wood, walls, and other places in your home that they are located at. There may be several colonies around so don't stop your efforts when you come across one of them. If you are having a hard time locating the carpenter ants or your efforts with boric acid failed you will need to call a professional exterminator.
You can help prevent carpenter ants from getting into your home by taking care of leaks right away. Remove dead wood from your yard too as this can be where the carpenter ants start out. Don't store wood for the fireplace too close to your home. It may be more convenient but you don't want to be dealing with carpenter ants. They can move from there into your home in very little time. They often do this through cracks or where wires run into your home. Seal these areas up as much as you can.
Fire Ants
Fire ants come in many sizes, and there are quite a few of these species that are know for being mean. They are going to fight for their survival and they may bite because they feel threatened. It is part of how they are able to survive in their natural environment. If these types of ants are on you, it is going to hurt and you will quickly feel the sting. Of course they generally stick together so where you find one you will find many.
Fire ants live in very large colonies and you will often see their mounds peaking out from piles of dirt in the backyard or in open fields. They also tend to have their home underneath things. If you move a pile of wood or bricks you should be careful to examine the area for them and other types of insects first.
You will likely find fire ants out in the open during the early morning hours. This is when they will be on the hunt for food to bring back to the colony. They eat a great deal and often go after crickets and other types of insects. When they can't find them they will settle for plants and grass. The amount of fire ants in the colony will continue to grow as long as there is enough food for them.
The queen ants will only reproduce if the basic needs of the colony are being met. This is a type of survival skill that is evident in most species of ants. There is only one queen in each ant colony. She will live to be about five years of age and will be replaced as soon as she dies. The number of eggs she lays daily will vary from a couple of hundred to more than one thousand.
The male ants have the job of mating with the queen. They will do so and then these fire ants have to move on to anther colony to continue the process. All of the worker ants in a colony of fire ants are females. None of them are able to reproduce. They do help to care for the young ants though and to gather food for everyone to eat.
Flying Ants
Many people don't believe there is any such thing as flying ants. This is because they only live in certain parts of the world. They aren't very common either so you won't see them most of the time unless you go out of your way to look for them. They are the most prominent in the summer months due to the hot temperatures. Some people don't realize the insects flying around them though are actually a type of ant.
Where you see one flying ant though you are sure to see a whole swarm of them. They are very social insects and they work well with each other. The ants you see with wings are the younger members of the colony though. As they get older the wings fall off and they will be resigned to staying on the ground.
Flying ants won't hurt you though and they definitely won't bite. Some people think they are very large mosquitoes but they are truly ants. They can be fascinating to observe though once you know what it is that you are looking at. There is a rumor out there that having flying ants around means you have termites. Yet there is no real evidence to support this accusation.
In order to be able to fly, these types of ants have very small but strong wings. If you can get close enough to look at them you will find they aren't the same length. This allows them to successfully use the wind to help them move with the least amount of effort. They also have antennas that are slightly bent to allow them to be more receptive. They also have three distinct parts of the body – the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.
Of course what you see in your home as flying ants may turn out to be termites though. They too have breeds that have wings. It is in your best interest to capture one and to really examine it. If you still aren't sure ask your local exterminator to look at it for you as well. You don't want to deal with the amount of damage that termites can do to your home. Hopefully what you discover is nothing more than flying ants as they won't harm your home.
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Insecta |
Latest Issue of Systematic Entomology
(10/10)
Wed Jul 16 01:47:35 GMT+00:00 2008
◆ Relationships among the major lineages of Dictyoptera: the effect of outgroup selection on dictyopteran tree topology WARE, JESSICA L.
◆ Phylogeny of the Helicophidae (Trichoptera), with emphasis on the New Caledonian species of Helicopha JOHANSON, KJELL A.
◆ Insights into the phylogenetic relationships within Cixiidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha): cladistic analysis of a morphological dataset CEOTTO, PAULA
◆ Evolutionary scenarios for unusual attachment devices of Phasmatodea and Mantophasmatodea (Insecta) BEUTEL, ROLF G.
◆ Phylogeny of Neotropical Protoneuridae (Odonata: Zygoptera) and a preliminary study of their relationship with related families PESSACQ, PABLO
◆ How Gerarus lost its head: stem-group Orthoptera and Paraneoptera revisited BETHOUX, OLIVIER
◆ Whats in a frog stomach? Solving a 150-year-old mystery (Diptera: Calliphoridae) PAPE, THOMAS
◆ Secondarily reduced foreleg armature in Perochaeta dikowi sp.n. (Diptera: Cyclorrhapha: Sepsidae) due to a novel mounting technique ANG, YUCHEN
◆ Systematics and biogeography of the fishfly genus Parachauliodes (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) endemic to the east Asian islands LIU, XINGYUE
◆ Identification Atlas of the Vespidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) of the Northeastern Nearctic region - Edited by M. Buck, S.A. Marshall and D.K.B. Cheung Heraty, John
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