Ant nests

Formic acid [64-18-6] (methanoic acid) is the first member of the homologous series of alkyl carboxyHc acids. It occurs naturally ia the defensive secretions of a number of insects, particularly of ants. Although the acid nature of the vapors above ants nests had been known since at least 1488, the pure acid was not isolated until 1671, when the British chemist John Ray described the isolation of the pure acid by distillation of ants (1). This remained the main preparative method for more than a century until a convenient laboratory method was discovered by Gay-Lussac (2). The preparation of formates using carbon monoxide was described by Berthelot in 1856. 

For this lifestyle to succeed, the wasp larvae obviously must avoid being recognized. If the ants were to detect them, they would suffer the fate of other intruders discovered in the nest expulsion or death. Although some intruders escape detection in ant nests because they resemble their ant hosts, Orasema larvae, pupae, and adults all are easily distinguishable from their hosts, at least by the human eye. Fire ants, however, are much more concerned with smell than physical appearance. Fire-ant odor and local colony odor are what matter to them. By these scents, ants identify their own nestmates as distinct from other species and even from fire ants belonging to rival colonies. The wasps strategy to avoid discovery is to smell just like fire ants. Larvae, pupae, and even adult wasps carry the distinctive scent of their particular fire ant colony. Shortly after the adult wasps leave the ant nest, this ant odor begins to fade. 

Not all caterpillars achieve this comfortable lifestyle. Enjoying the ants hospitality depends on being taken home by the right kind of ants. The caterpillars have no control over this crucial matter, because the first Myrmica ant to notice a caterpillar takes it off to its own nest. Although each Myrmica species can distinguish its own larvae from those of related species, all local Myrmica ants accept the caterpillars as their own. How this comes about is unclear. Like other insect larvae living openly in ant nests, the caterpillars presumably carry the odor of ant larvae. Perhaps they smell enough... 

If a searching wasp very probably identifies suitable ant nests by odor, it is much less clear how she senses from the surface which suitable nests actually contain caterpillars. After all, the caterpillars have successfully disguised themselves by carrying an odor the ants accept as that of their own larvae. Is the wasp able to discern tiny differences between ant and caterpillar odors that the ants themselves fail to detect Even if she is capable of this, it seems incredible that she could do so from outside the nest, where... 

Wagner, D. (1997). The influence of ant nests on Acacia seed production, herbivory and soil nutrients. Journal of Ecology 85 83-93. 

Geiselhardt, S. F Peschke, K. and Nagel, P. (2007). A review of myrmecophily in ant nest beetles (Coleoptera Carabidae Paussinae) linking early observations with recent findings. Naturwissenschaften, 94, 871-894. 

The intensity of light scattered from a small volume element of solution is not constant but it fluctuates in the manner shown in Figure 7-23 (Berne and Pecora 1976). The situation is like that of a short sighted person looking at an ants nest at some distance although individual ants cannot be discriminated, it can readily be seen whether the nest is quiet or in a state of hectic activity. 

The influence of cutter ants on the belowground recovery of secondary forest may go beyond their role as tillers of deep soil. The soil beneath ant nests is also enriched in... 

Fig. 93 Soil resistance to penetration and fine-root length density in the soil beneath cutter ant nests (Atta sexdens) and beneath neighboring forest without nest influence.

Seifert KA, Samson RA, Chapela IH. Escovopsis aspergilloides, a rediscovered hyphomycete from leaf-cutting ant nests. Mycolo-gia 1995 87 407-413. 

Muchovej JJ, Della Lucia TM C. Escovopsis, a new genus from leaf cutting ant nests to replace Phialocladus nomen invalidum. Mycotaxon 37 191-195, 1990. 

Many larvae of lycaenid butterflies produce attractants and food for ants, although only a few species live inside ant nests. The ecological signiHcance of... 

Many other examples may be found in the literature. Bifurcations can be found in the behavior of social insects as well [7]. Imagine an ant nest connected to a food source by two paths, identical except for the directions of their two limbs (Fig. 20.5). At first, equal numbers of ants are traveling on the two paths. After some time, practically all the ants are found on the same path due to the catalytic effects of chemical substances called pheromones, produced by the ants. Note that which bridge will be used is unpredictable. This corresponds to a typical symmetry-breaking bifurcation. 

Bonchev et al. studied the abdomen of 50 ants by smearing them with an absorbent of tin oxide. These authors then analyzed the line width caused by the movement of the living ants and calculated the rate of motion in the ant nest. ... 

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