Insect olfaction Insect olfaction Insect olfaction refers to the function of chemical receptors that enable insects to detect and identify volatile compounds for foraging, predator avoidance, finding mating partners (via pheromones) and locating oviposition habitats. Thus, it is the most important sensation for insects. Most important insect behaviors must be timed perfectly which is dependent on what they smell and when they smell it. For example, olfaction is essential for hunting in many species of wasps, including "Polybia sericea". The two organs insects primarily use for detecting odors are the antennae and specialized mouth parts called the maxillary palps. However, a recent
Meat ant The meat ant was first described in 1858 by British entomologist Frederick Smith in his "Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum part VI", under the binomial name "Formica purpurea" from a holotype worker ant he collected in Melbourne, Victoria. The type material is currently housed in the Natural History Museum, London. In 1862, Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr erected the genus "Iridomyrmex", and reclassified the meat ant as a member of "Iridomyrmex" rather than the genus "Formica". The ant was named "Iridomyrmex purpurea" in 1862. Mayr renamed the ant as "Iridomyrmex purpureus" one year after. "I.