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Philidris Nagasau
''Philidris nagasau'' is a species of ant in the genus ''Philidris''. Described by William M. Mann in 1921, the species is endemic to Fiji. ''Philidris nagasau'' makes its living by planting seeds of epiphytes such as ''Squamellaria'' in the bark of host trees and tending them like a garden. Their planting habits share a remarkable similarity to that of humans. They are able to identify the seeds of their preferred plant, plant these seeds, guard their plots from potential predators, and finally use their own feces to fertilize the young seedling. There is also evidence that these ants lost their ability to nest before ''Squamellaria'' developed domatia A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ... for these ants to reside. This suggests that ''P. nagasau'' selectively breed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William M
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of England in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is sometimes abbreviated "Wm." Shortened familiar versions in English include Will, Wills, Willy, Willie, Bill, and Billy. A common Irish form is Liam. Scottish diminutives include Wull, Willie or Wullie (as in Oor Wullie or the play ''Douglas''). Female forms are Willa, Willemina, Wilma and Wilhelmina. Etymology William is related to the given name ''Wilhelm'' (cf. Proto-Germanic ᚹᛁᛚᛃᚨᚺᛖᛚᛗᚨᛉ, ''*Wiljahelmaz'' > German ''Wilhelm'' and Old Norse ᚢᛁᛚᛋᛅᚼᛅᛚᛘᛅᛋ, ''Vilhjálmr''). By regular sound changes, the native, inherited English form of the name shoul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philidris
''Philidris'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus is known from tropical forests from eastern India to northern Australia. It is similar to the genus ''Iridomyrmex'', from where the type species was transferred from by Shattuck (1992). Species *''Philidris brunnea'' (Donisthorpe, 1949) *''Philidris cordata'' (Smith, 1859) *''Philidris cruda'' (Smith, 1860) *''Philidris jiugongshanensis'' Wang & Wu, 2007 *''Philidris laevigata'' (Emery, 1895) *''Philidris myrmecodiae'' (Emery, 1887) *''Philidris nagasau'' (Mann, 1921) *''Philidris notiala'' Zhou & Zheng, 1998 *''Philidris pubescens'' (Donisthorpe, 1949) References External links * Phildris on AntWiki Dolichoderinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of Asia Hymenoptera of Australia {{Dolichoderinae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about . The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts: either in the capital city of Suva; or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry; or in Lautoka, where the Sugarcane, sugar-cane industry is dominant. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain. The majority of Fiji's islands were formed by Volcano, volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Some geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epiphytes
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phorophytes. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. They are an important source of food for many species. Typically, the older parts of a plant will have more epiphytes growing on them. Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone (e.g., many mosses, liverworts, lichens, and algae) or in the tropics (e.g., many ferns, cacti, orchids, and bromeliads). Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squamellaria
''Squamellaria'' is a genus of myrmecophyte, myrmecophytic flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Rubiaceae. It is endemism, endemic to the islands of Fiji. It is one of five ant-plant genera in the family Rubiaceae, the others being ''Anthorrhiza'', ''Hydnophytum'', ''Myrmecodia'', and ''Myrmephytum''. Species The following list of 4 species is sourced from The Plant List.''Squamellaria'' The Plant List. *''Squamellaria imberbis'' (Asa Gray, A.Gray) Odoardo Beccari, Becc. *''Squamellaria major'' Albert Charles Smith, A.C.Sm. *''Squamellaria thekii'' Matthew Jebb, Jebb *''Squamellaria wilsonii'' (John Horne (botanist), Horne ex John Gilbert Baker, Baker) Odoardo Beccari, Becc. References Rubiaceae genera Myrmecophytes ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domatia
A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabitants, but the distinction is not sharp; the development of many types of domatia is influenced and promoted by the inhabitants. Most domatia are inhabited either by mites or ants, in what can be a Mutualism (biology), mutualist relationship, but other arthropods such as thrips may take parasitic advantage of the protection offered by this structure. Domatia occupied by ants are called myrmecodomatia. An important class of myrmecodomatia comprise large, hollow spines of certain acacias such as ''Acacia sphaerocephala'', in which ants of the genera ''Pseudomyrmex'' and ''Tetraponera'' make their nests. Plants that provide myrmecodomatia are called myrmecophytes. The variety of the plants that provide myrmecodomatia, and the ranges of forms ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolichoderinae
Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants, which includes species such as the Argentine ant (''Linepithema humile''), the erratic ant, the odorous house ant, and the cone ant. The subfamily presents a great diversity of species throughout the world, distributed in different biogeographic realms, from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropical region and Malaysia, to the Middle East, Australian, and Neotropical regions. This subfamily is distinguished by having a single petiole (no post-petiole) and a slit-like orifice, from which chemical compounds are released. Dolichoderine ants do not possess a sting, unlike ants in some other subfamilies, such as Ponerinae and Myrmicinae, instead relying on the chemical defensive compounds produced from the anal gland. Of the compounds produced by dolichoderine ants, several terpenoids were identified including the previously unknown iridomyrmecin, isoiridomyrmecin, and iridodial. Such compounds are responsible for the smell given off by ants of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insects Described In 1887
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. Their blood is not totally contained in vessels; some circulates in an open cavity known as the haemocoel. Insects are the most diverse group of animals; they include more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. The total number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million; In: potentially over 90% of the animal life forms on Earth are insects. Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, which are dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans, which recent research has indicated insects are nested within. Nearly all insects hatch from eggs. Insect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
