Harvester Ants, Pogonomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

2012 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Harvester Ants

How Patrollers Set Foraging Direction in Harvester Ants

2007 ◽  
Vol 170 (6) ◽  
pp. 943
Author(s):  
Michael J. Greene ◽  
Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Harvester Ants

scholarly journals Context-dependent expression of the foraging gene in field colonies of ants: the interacting roles of age, environment and task

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1837) ◽  
pp. 20160841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krista K. Ingram ◽  
Deborah M. Gordon ◽  
Daniel A. Friedman ◽  
Michael Greene ◽  
John Kahler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Task Allocation ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Genetic Regulation ◽  
Behavioural Plasticity ◽  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Ontogenetic Changes ◽  
Context Dependent ◽  
And Task

Task allocation among social insect workers is an ideal framework for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying behavioural plasticity because workers of similar genotype adopt different behavioural phenotypes. Elegant laboratory studies have pioneered this effort, but field studies involving the genetic regulation of task allocation are rare. Here, we investigate the expression of the foraging gene in harvester ant workers from five age- and task-related groups in a natural population, and we experimentally test how exposure to light affects foraging expression in brood workers and foragers. Results from our field study show that the regulation of the foraging gene in harvester ants occurs at two time scales: levels of foraging mRNA are associated with ontogenetic changes over weeks in worker age, location and task, and there are significant daily oscillations in foraging expression in foragers. The temporal dissection of foraging expression reveals that gene expression changes in foragers occur across a scale of hours and the level of expression is predicted by activity rhythms: foragers have high levels of foraging mRNA during daylight hours when they are most active outside the nests. In the experimental study, we find complex interactions in foraging expression between task behaviour and light exposure. Oscillations occur in foragers following experimental exposure to 13 L : 11 D (LD) conditions, but not in brood workers under similar conditions. No significant differences were seen in foraging expression over time in either task in 24 h dark (DD) conditions. Interestingly, the expression of foraging in both undisturbed field and experimentally treated foragers is also significantly correlated with the expression of the circadian clock gene, cycle . Our results provide evidence that the regulation of this gene is context-dependent and associated with both ontogenetic and daily behavioural plasticity in field colonies of harvester ants. Our results underscore the importance of assaying temporal patterns in behavioural gene expression and suggest that gene regulation is an integral mechanism associated with behavioural plasticity in harvester ants.

Exploring the vegetation: Seed harvester ants climb and remove seeds from a giant cactus in a semiarid environment

2018 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 106-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Luna ◽  
Diego Anjos ◽  
Juan H. García-Chávez ◽  
Wesley Dáttilo
Keyword(s):  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Semiarid Environment

scholarly journals Ants Sense, and Follow, Trail Pheromones of Ant Community Members

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime M. Chalissery ◽  
Asim Renyard ◽  
Regine Gries ◽  
Danielle Hoefele ◽  
Santosh Kumar Alamsetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trail Pheromone ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Lasius Niger ◽  
Trail Following ◽  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Trail Pheromones ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Carpenter Ants ◽  
Electroantennographic Detection

Ants deposit trail pheromones that guide nestmates to food sources. We tested the hypotheses that ant community members (Western carpenter ants, Camponotus modoc; black garden ants, Lasius niger; European fire ants, Myrmica rubra) (1) sense, and follow, each other’s trail pheromones, and (2) fail to recognize trail pheromones of allopatric ants (pavement ants, Tetramorium caespitum; desert harvester ants, Novomessor albisetosus; Argentine ants, Linepithema humilis). In gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection analyses of a six-species synthetic trail pheromone blend (6-TPB), La. niger, Ca. modoc, and M. rubra sensed the trail pheromones of all community members and unexpectedly that of T. caespitum. Except for La. niger, all species did not recognize the trail pheromones of N. albisetosus and Li. humilis. In bioassays, La. niger workers followed the 6-TPB trail for longer distances than their own trail pheromone, indicating an additive effect of con- and hetero-specific pheromones on trail-following. Moreover, Ca. modoc workers followed the 6-TPB and their own trail pheromones for similar distances, indicating no adverse effects of heterospecific pheromones on trail-following. Our data show that ant community members eavesdrop on each other’s trail pheromones, and that multiple pheromones can be combined in a lure that guides multiple species of pest ants to lethal food baits.

Activity pattern of harvester ants (Messor spp.) in the Negev desert ecosystem

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Steinberger ◽  
H. Leschner ◽  
A. Shmida
Keyword(s):  
Activity Pattern ◽  
Negev Desert ◽  
Desert Ecosystem ◽  
Harvester Ants
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