Queen Specific Exocrine Glands in Legionary Ants and Their Possible Function in Sexual Selection

abstract: The colonies of army ants and some other legionary ant species have single, permanently wingless queens with massive post petioles and large gasters. Such highly modified queens are called dichthadiigynes. This paper presents the unusually rich exocrine gland endowment of dichthadiigynes, which is not found in queens of other ant species. It has been suggested these kinds of glands produce secretions that attract and maintain worker retinues around queens, especially during migration. However, large worker retinues also occur in non-legionary species whose queens do not have such an exuberance of exocrine glands. We argue and present evidence in support of our previously proposed hypothesis that the enormous outfit of exocrine glands found in dichthadiigynes is due to sexual selection mediated by workers as the main selecting agents.The article is published at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.015160

The Ants of Dallas County, Texas, and their Nesting Sites; with Particular Reference to Soil Texture as an Ecological Factor

On the ants of any particular area of Texas, virtually no papers have been published, which attempt to examine the relationships of the species to certain ecological factors. The main reasons for this, perhaps, have been the absorption of our myrmecologists in adequate identification and description of the American forms, and the difficulties involved therein. In the past few years, the foundations of our taxonomic entities have been strengthened, and such studies have come to be more appreciated. This paper deals with the ants of Dallas County, Texas, and their nesting sites, with special reference to soil as an ecological factor. More specifically, its purpose is to establish: (a) which ant-species occupy which nesting sites in each of the four strata utilized by ants; (b) which soil-nesting ants tenant which Dallas County soil types (determining, if possible, apparent soil preferences of the ants) ; (c) to give a guide to the ants of Dallas County with keys, distributional records, my own observations, and those of other more advanced workers. I include under the species-notes many observations by other myrmecologists, in the hope that thereby the non-specialist on ants will gain a much more vivid picture of the activities of these astounding social insects

Ants of Oklahoma

Entomolog

Dictionary of Invertebrate Zoology

An exhaustive dictionary of over 13,000 terms relating to invertebrate zoology, including etymologies, word derivations and taxonomic classification. Entries cover parasitology, nematology, marine invertebrates, insects, and anatomy, biology, and reproductive processes for the following phyla: Acanthocephala Annelida Arthropoda Brachiopoda Bryozoa Chaetognatha Cnidaria Ctenophora Echinodermata Echiura Entoprocta Gastrotricha Gnathostomulida Kinorhyncha Loricifera Mesozoa Mollusca Nemata Nematomorpha Nemertea Onychophora Pentastoma Phoronida Placozoa Platyhelminthes Pogonophora Porifera Priapula Rotifera Sipuncula Tardigrada.https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/1061/thumbnail.jp