Ant and Related Entomology Terms


The complete repertories of all castes of a colony, with a specification of the frequencies of the acts and of the interactions among the castes.
A member of a worker subcaste specialized for colony defense.
species odor
The odor found on the bodies of social insects which is peculiar to a given species.

It is possible that the species odor is merely the less distinctive component of a larger mixture comprising the colony odor (the odor found on the bodies of social insects).

A spine-like appendage, often paired and/or pectinate (comb-like), at the end of the tibia.
Scale-shaped, used commonly to describe a form of hair.
A group of gongylidia (clusters), the swollen hyphal tips (long slender tubes) produced by fungi that live in symbiosis with attine (fungus growing) ants.
statary phase
The period (as opposed to the nomadic phase) in the activity cycle of an army ant colony during which the colony is relatively quiescent and does not move from site to site.

At this time the queen lays the eggs and the bulk of the brood is in the egg and pupal states.

A reference to the sternum or lower portion of the body or body part.
A ventral sclerite; in other words, a portion of the body wall bounded by sutures and located in a ventral position.
The guidance of work performed by individual colony members by the evidences of work previously accomplished rather than by direct signals from nest mates.
stomodeal trophallaxis
The exchange of liquid food mouth-to-mouth.

The food is either regurgitated from the crop (the first segment of the gastral gut) or released from glands in the head or thorax.

The fore gut of an insect.
A fine impressed line on the body surface.
Referring to a surface bearing multiple striae, or impressed lines.
The production of sound by rubbing one part of the body surface against another part.


Index of additional Scientific and Technological Topics.

Bibliography of Entomology or Insect Terms (The Ants).