tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-139518042011-07-29T17:47:41.668+10:00...look at the ant, thou sluggard!Ajay Narendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17771741069086144248noreply@blogger.comBlogger21100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13951804.post-35066224053392713472010-07-18T00:47:00.001+10:002010-07-18T00:47:22.200+10:00ant visions has moved to<div><a href="http://web.mac.com/ajaynarendra/AjayNarendra/antvisions/antvisions.html">http://web.mac.com/ajaynarendra/AjayNarendra/antvisions/antvisions.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Update feeds, links, bookmarks..</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13951804-3506622405339271347?l=dolichoderinae.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Ajay Narendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17771741069086144248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13951804.post-1119765752404729312005-06-26T16:02:00.000+10:002006-11-13T05:14:06.960+11:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4187/1246/1600/AIridomyrmex10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4187/1246/320/AIridomyrmex10.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Iridomyrmex purpureus </span>sp gp<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Classification</span><br />Tribe: Dolichoderini<br />Subfamily: Dolichoderinae<br />Family: Formicinae<br />Common name: Meat ant<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Easily qualifying to be the most common and aggressive ant</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> in Central Australia. They have multiple nest entrances, hence called <span style="font-style: italic;">polydomous</span>. They, as other Dolichoderines,</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> lack a sting but can inflict a nasty bite. They form extremely long trails and establish</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> storage depots enroute the trail. Their inability to cope with the heat is distinct in central Australia where they have strict</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> temporal foraging patterns, and stay inside the nest during the hottest periods of the day.<br /><br />They are</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> primarily scavengers and often raid </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">into houses</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and garbage bins, thus</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> attaining a pest status.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Other than feeding on insects roasted</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> in the heat and</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> roadkills, they tend to homopterans (membracids on the tree <span style="font-style: italic;">Hakea sp</span>) for the honeydew they produce. Occasionally they also raid into the nest of <a href="http://formicinae.blogspot.com/2005/06/melophorus-bagoti.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Melophorus bagoti</span></a> and pull out the workers standing guard below the plugged nest entrance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Collected:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. (January 2004, January 2005)</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/13951804-111976575240472931?l=dolichoderinae.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Ajay Narendrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17771741069086144248noreply@blogger.com0