Myrmecology

Myrmecology (from Greek: μύρμεξ, myrmex, "ant"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of ants, a branch of entomology. Ants are often chosen as a study group to answer questions on the evolution of social systems. All ants are highly eusocial.

Early references to ants

Jewish Mosaic law

Said that any seeds found in the nests of ants must be given to the poor: In Southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, there are numerous species of ants of the genera Phelidole and Messor which gather seeds and store them.

Solomon (Proverbs 6:6)

"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise." http://www.bartleby.com/108/20/6.html This refers to the fact that the ants are hard workers. A sluggard being a lazy person, Solomon said to work as the ants work.

Pliny

Pliny lauded the industry of the ant working through the summer nights.

Aelian

Claudius Aelianus admired the complex arrangements of the galleries and chambers in the nests of ants and compared these with the labyrinths of Greece and Crete.

Later studies

The similarities between primitive ponerine ants found in different continents is an important pointer to the periods when land bridges were extant and also to the nature of the pre-ant.

List of notable myrmecologists

listed alphabetically

• Murray S. Blum (1929— )
• Barry Bolton
• Giovanni Cobelli (1849–1937)
• Cedric Collingwood
• Mark A. Deyrup
• Horace Donisthorpe (1870–1951)
• Auguste Forel (1848–1931)
• Deborah Gordon (1955— )
• William Gould (~1715–?)
• Bert Hölldobler (1936— )
• Thomas C. Jerdon (1811–1872)
• Laurent Keller (1961— )
• Sir John Lubbock (the 1st Lord and Baron Avebury) (1834–1913)
• Derek Wragge Morley (1920–1969)
• Fergus O\'Rourke
• Frederick Smith (1805–1879)
• John Obadiah Westwood (1805–1893)
• William Morton Wheeler (1865–1937)
• E.O. Wilson (1929— )

Related terms

Myrmecochorous (adj.) dispersed by ants.

Myrmecophagous (adj.) feeding on ants.

Myrmecophile (n.) an organism that habitually shares an ant nest . myrmecophilous (adj.), myrmecophily (n.)

See also

• British Ants
• BWARS
• Formicarium, also known as ant farm
• Stigmergy, a biological mechanism attributed to the coordination of ants and other social insects

Notes

External links

• Documentary about myrmecology

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