Glossary of ant terms

This is a glossary of terms used in the descriptions of ants.

A
alate:winged reproductive male or female ant

B
Berlese funnel:device used to extract ants and other living organism from soil and leaf-litter samples; a sample is placed on a screen with a funnel beneath, and a heat source above; the drying forces the animals downwards, where they fall into a collecting jar, usually filled with alcohol

bivouac:in army and driver ants, nest formed by the bodies of the ants themselves to protect the queen and larvae

D
dulosis:see slave-making

dichthadiiform:wingless queen with enlarged gaster, having a broadened head, very small eyes and worker-like alitrunk

domatium:in plants, tiny chamber produced by plants to house arthropods

E
epigaeic:living or foraging above the ground

ergate:a member of the non-reproductive, laboring caste.

ergatogyne:denotes any intercaste female morphologically intermediate between workers and (winged) queens, not restricted to the reproductive caste; formerly often used interchangeably to refer to ergatoid queens

ergatoid:a wingless (dealate) reproductive adult ant, anatomically intermediate in form between workers and winged queens or males

F
fungivorous:feeding on fungi

G
gamergate:a mated, egg-laying, female worker in species lacking a queen

granivorous:seed herbivory, feeding on grain

gyne:a member of the female reproductive caste

H
haplometrosis:colony founding by a single queen

hypogaeic:subterranean, living below the ground, or at least beneath the leaf litter, stones or dead bark

M
mermithergate:"parasitogenic" phenotype of worker ants, caused by mermithid nematodes

mermithogyne:"parasitogenic" phenotype of gynes, caused by mermithid nematodes

monandry:queen mating with a single male

monodomy:colony housing arrangement in a single nest

monogyny:nest arrangement containing a single queen

multicoloniality:nest arrangement of a population of ants consisting of multiple independent colonies (monodomous or polydomous)

myrmecochory:seed dispersal by ants

myrmecodomatium:domatium housed by ants

myrmecologist:a student of ants

myrmecology:the study of ants

myrmecophily:association of various organisms with ants

myrmecophyte:plant that lives in a mutualistic association with ants

N
nanitic:a worker of the first generation, usually smaller in size than subsequent generations

O
oligogyny:nest arrangement with multiple queens, defined by worker tolerance towards all queens in the colony and antagonism among the queens

P
pheromone trail:trail of chemical compounds secreted by ants to guide nestmates to a target (usually food)

pilosity:quality of being covered with hair

pleometrosis:colony founding by multiple queens

plerergate:see replete

polyandry:queen mating with multiple males

polydomy:colony arrangement housed in multiple separate nests

polyethism:division of labor, the development of different roles

polygyny:nest arrangement containing multiple queens

polymorphism:in social insects, having more than one caste within the same sex

primary monogyny:single queen founding a colony (haplometrosis), with no additional queens incorporated into the colony

primary polygyny:colony founding by multiple queens (pleometrosis), with more than one queen surviving

Q
queen:see gyne

R
replete:worker ant that functions as a living larder, having an enlarged abdomen filled with liquid food secondary monogyny:colony founding by multiple queens (pleometrosis), a single queen survive

S
secondary polygyny:colony founding by a single queen (haplometrosis), with additional queens incorporated into the colony at a later stage, usually by adoption or fusion with other colonies

slave-making:the capture of brood of other ant species that is then reared as slaves

T
tandem running:recruitment method used by some species of ants, where one ant leads a single, closely following nestmate to a target (usually food)

trail pheromone:see pheromone trail

trophallaxis:transfer of liquid food among family members or guest organisms

trophic egg:non-viable egg laid by the queen to be used as a source of nutrition

trophobiosis:mutualistic relationships between ants and other insects

U
unicoloniality:a population of ants inhabiting a single large polydomous colony

W
Winkler extraction:device used to extract ants and other living organism from soil and leaf-litter samples; a sample is placed inside an inner bag constructed from cloth mesh, which is suspended in a second bag containing a funnel leading to a collecting jar, usually filled with alcohol; the device is hung up in the air and passively extracts escaping animals