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Ants Of Medical Importance
Most ants are capable of biting, stinging, and spraying irritant chemicals. However, only relatively few species can harm humans; among which some can cause significant injury or, in rare cases, death. Like wasps, individual ants are capable of stinging multiple times as they do not lose their stingers. Fire ants The fire ants are a group of 20 species of New World ants which are reputed after their aggressiveness and painful stings. Four species are considered of relevant medical importance: '' Solenopsis invicta'', ''Solenopsis richteri'', '' Solenopsis geminata'', and '' Solenopsis saevissima''. The Red Imported Fire Ant '' S. invicta'' is the best studied among them, and reputed as the most dangerous species. '' S. invicta'' is expanding in range around the world and thus it is most often involved in medical emergencies. A person typically encounters problems with fire ants by inadvertently stepping onto one of their mounds, which causes the ants to swarm up the person's legs, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey. The most commonly known wasps, such as yellowjackets and hornets, are in the family Vespidae and are eusocial, living together in a nest with an egg-laying queen and non-reproducing workers. Eusociality is favoured by the unusual haplodiploid system of sex determination in Hymenoptera, as it makes sisters exceptionally closely related to each other. However, the majority of wasp species are solitary, with each adult female living and breeding independently. Females typically have an ovipositor f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and in soil, rotting wood, under stones, or in trees.Goulet, H & Huber, JT (eds.) (1993) Hymenoptera of the world: an identification guide to families. Agriculture Canada. p. 224 Identification Myrmicine worker ants have a distinct postpetiole, i.e., abdominal segment III is notably smaller than segment IV and set off from it by a well-developed constriction; the pronotum is inflexibly fused to the rest of the mesosoma, such that the promesonotal suture is weakly impressed or absent, and a functional sting is usually present. The clypeus is well-developed; as a result, the antennal sockets are well separated from the anterior margin of the head. Most myrmicine genera possess well-developed eyes and frontal lobes that partly conceal the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pharaoh Ant
The pharaoh ant (''Monomorium pharaonis'') is a small (2 mm) yellow or light brown, almost transparent ant notorious for being a major indoor nuisance pest, especially in hospitals. A cryptogenic species, it has now been introduced to virtually every area of the world, including Europe, the Americas, Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is a major pest in the United States, Australia, and Europe. This species is polygynouseach colony contains many queensleading to unique caste interactions and colony dynamics. This also allows the colony to fragment into bud colonies quickly. Pharaoh ants are a tropical species, but they also thrive in buildings almost anywhere, even in temperate regions provided central heating is present. Physical characteristics Pharaoh workers are about 1.5 to 2 millimeters long, a little more than 1/16-inch. They are light yellow to reddish brown in color with a darker abdomen. Pharaoh ant workers have a non-functional stinger used to generate p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argentine Ant
The Argentine ant (''Linepithema humile''), formerly ''Iridomyrmex humilis'', is an ant native to northern Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and southern Brazil. It is an invasive species that has been established in many Mediterranean climate areas, inadvertently introduced by humans to many places, including South Africa, New Zealand, Japan, Easter Island, Australia, Europe, Hawaii, and the continental United States. Description The worker ants are long and can easily squeeze through cracks and holes as small as in size. Queens are long, much smaller than other species of ants. These ants will set up quarters in the ground, in cracks in concrete walls, in spaces between boards and timbers, even among belongings in human dwellings. In natural areas, they generally nest shallowly in loose leaf litter or beneath small stones, due to their poor ability to dig deeper nests. However, if a deeper nesting ant species abandons their nest, Argentine ant colonies will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypoponera
''Hypoponera'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution and is found in all continents except Antarctica. Species *'' Hypoponera abeillei'' (André, 1881) *'' Hypoponera agilis'' (Borgmeier, 1934) *''Hypoponera albopubescens'' (Menozzi, 1939) *''Hypoponera aliena'' (Smith, 1858) *'' Hypoponera angustata'' (Santschi, 1914) *''Hypoponera aprora'' Bolton & Fisher, 2011 *'' Hypoponera argentina'' (Santschi, 1922) *'' Hypoponera assmuthi'' (Forel, 1905) *†'' Hypoponera atavia'' (Mayr, 1868) *''Hypoponera austra'' Bolton & Fisher, 2011 *''Hypoponera beebei'' (Wheeler, 1924) *''Hypoponera beppin'' Terayama, 1999 *''Hypoponera biroi'' (Emery, 1900) *''Hypoponera blanda'' Bolton & Fisher, 2011 *''Hypoponera boerorum'' (Forel, 1901) *''Hypoponera bugnioni'' (Forel, 1912) *''Hypoponera bulawayensis'' (Forel, 1913) *''Hypoponera butteli'' (Forel, 1913) *''Hypoponera camerunensis'' (Santschi, 1914) *''Hypoponera ceylonensis'' (Mayr, 1897) *''Hy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudomyrmex
''Pseudomyrmex'' is a genus of stinging, wasp-like ants in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae. They are large-eyed, slender ants, found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the New World. Distribution and habitat ''Pseudomyrmex'' is predominantly Neotropical in distribution, but a few species are known from the Nearctic region. Most species are generalist twig nesters, for instance, '' Pseudomyrmex pallidus'' may nest in the hollow stems of dead grasses, twigs of herbaceous plants, and in dead, woody twigs. However, the genus is best known for several species that are obligate mutualists with certain species of ''Acacia''. Other species have evolved obligate mutualism with other trees; for example ''Pseudomyrmex triplarinus'' is obligately dependent on any of a few trees in the genus '' Triplaris''.Larrea-Alcázar, D. M. and J. A. Simonetti. (2007)Why are there few seedlings beneath the myrmecophyte ''Triplaris americana''?. ''Acta Oecologica'' 32(1) 112–18. Species * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhytidoponera
''Rhytidoponera'' is a large genus of ants in the subfamily Ectatomminae. The genus is known from Australia and Melanesia, with New Caledonia as the most eastern limit. Some ''Rhytidoponera'' species have both winged alate Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures. In entomology In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form o ... queens and gamergates. All known queenless species of ''Rhytidoponera'' are polygynous. Species *'' Rhytidoponera abdominalis'' Viehmeyer, 1912 *'' Rhytidoponera acanthoponeroides'' Viehmeyer, 1924 *'' Rhytidoponera aciculata'' (Smith, 1858) *'' Rhytidoponera aenescens'' Emery, 1900 *'' Rhytidoponera anceps'' Emery, 1898 *'' Rhytidoponera aquila'' Ward, 1984 *'' Rhytidoponera araneoides'' (Le Guillou, 1842) *'' Rhytidoponera arborea'' Ward, 1984 *'' Rhytidoponera aspera'' (Roger, 1860) *'' Rhytidoponera atro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odontomachus
''Odontomachus'' is a genus of ants commonly called trap-jaw ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world. Overview Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in ''Odontomachus'' have a pair of large, straight mandibles capable of opening 180°. These jaws are locked in place by an internal mechanism, and can snap shut on prey or objects when sensory hairs on the inside of the mandibles are touched. The mandibles are powerful and fast, giving the ant its common name. The mandibles either kill or maim the prey, allowing the ant to bring it back to the nest. ''Odontomachus'' ants can simply lock and snap their jaws again if one bite is not enough, or to cut off bits of larger food. The mandibles also permit slow and fine movements for other tasks such as nest building and care of larvae. The ants were also observed to use their jaws as a catapult to eject intruders or fling themselves backwards to escape a threat. The larvae of trap-jaw ants are remarkable in b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pachycondyla
''Pachycondyla'' is a ponerine genus of ants found in the Neotropics. Distribution ''Pachycondyla'' is currently distributed from southern United States to northern Argentina, but some fossil species (e.g. '' P. eocenica'' and '' P. lutzi'') are found in Europe. Species The genus formerly contained hundreds of species, most of them belonging to at the time junior synonyms of ''Pachycondyla''. While revising the ponerines, Schmidt & Shattuck (2014) revived many of the former synonyms, leaving only eleven species in ''Pachycondyla''. They were not able to place some species with certainty, and left more than twenty species ''incertae sedis'' in ''Pachycondyla'', acknowledging that "this placement is undoubtedly incorrect". *'' Pachycondyla constricticeps'' Mackay & Mackay, 2010 *'' Pachycondyla crassinoda'' (Latreille, 1802) *'' Pachycondyla fuscoatra'' (Roger, 1861) *'' Pachycondyla harpax'' (Fabricius, 1804) *'' Pachycondyla impressa'' (Roger, 1861) *'' Pachycondyla inca'' Em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pogonomyrmex
''Pogonomyrmex'' is a genus of harvester ants, occurring primarily in the deserts of North, Central, and South America, with a single endemic species from Haiti.Cole, A.C. 1968. Pogonomyrmex Harvester Ants: a study of the genus in North America. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN. Description The genus name originated from the Greek language and refers to a beard-like structure, the psammophore, below the head (Greek πώγων/''pōgōn'', "beard" + μύρμηξ/''murmēx'', "ant"), which can be found in most species of the subgenus ''sensu stricto''. The psammophore is used for gathering small seeds, helping to increase the efficiency of transportation of fine sand and pebbles during nest construction, or to carry eggs. However, this structure is missing in species of the subgenus ''Ephebomyrmex'' (Greek ἔφηβος/''ephēbos'', "beardless lad"), and these species generally have smaller individuals and colonies. Venom ''Pogonomyrmex'' (''sensu stricto'') workers h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tetramorium
''Tetramorium'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae that includes more than 520 species. These ants are also known as pavement ants. Taxonomy and phylogeny ''Tetramorium'' was first described by Gustav Mayr in 1855 in the same publication as ''Monomorium''. Revision within the genus by Wagner et al. in 2017 recognized a complex of 10 cryptic species, 3 of which were raised from subspecies classifications and 2 of which were newly described. This revision also elevated the pavement ant introduced to North America as the species ''T. immigrans'' rather than the previous designation as a subspecies of ''T. caespitum''. These 10 species within in the ''T. caespitum'' complex are as follows: * ''Tetramorium alpestre'' Steiner, Schlick-Steiner & Seifert, 2010 * ''Tetramorium breviscapus'' Wagner et al., 2017 * ''Tetramorium caespitum'' (Linnaeus, 1758) * ''Tetramorium caucasicum'' Wagner et al., 2017 * ''Tetramorium fusciclava'' Consani & Zangheri, 1952 * ''Tetramorium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmecia (ant)
''Myrmecia'' is a genus of ants first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. The genus is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. ''Myrmecia'' is a large genus of ants, comprising at least 93 species that are found throughout Australia and its coastal islands, while a single species is only known from New Caledonia. One species has been introduced out of its natural distribution and was found in New Zealand in 1940, but the ant was last seen in 1981. These ants are commonly known as bull ants, bulldog ants or jack jumper ants, and are also associated with many other common names. They are characterized by their extreme aggressiveness, ferocity, and painful stings. Some species are known for the jumping behavior they exhibit when agitated. Species of this genus are also characterized by their elongated mandibles and large compound eyes that provide excellent vision. They vary in colour and size, ranging from . Although wor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
