Army ants are well known for their destructive raids of other ant colonies. Some known defensive strategies include nest evacuation, modification of nest architecture, blockade of nest entrances using rocks or debris, and direct combat outside the nest. Since army ants highly prefer Pheidole ants as prey in desert habitats, there may be strong selective pressure on Pheidole to evolve defensive ...

A new species of the genus Laelaspis Berlese, Laelaspis elongatus sp. n. is described based on adult female and male specimens collected in association with Pheidole pallidula (Nylander) (Hym., Formicidae) in Ahwaz, Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran, and also Acinopus (Acinopus) picipes (Olivier) (Col., Carabidae) in Bam, Kerman Province, southeastern Iran.

This paper reports on five species of mites of the genus Gymnolaelaps associated with ants and soil in Iran--G. artavilensis sp. nov. from Pheidole pallidula, G. laevis (Michael) and G. myrmecophilus (Berlese) from Tetramorium caespitum, G. myrmophila (Michael) from Formica sp., and G obscuroides Costa from soil. Gymnolaelaps australicus Womersley and G. hospes (Berlese) have also been reported...

This paper reports on three species of mites of the genus Myrmozercon Berlese, 1902 associated with ants in Iran--Myrmozercon crinitus Joharchi sp. nov. from Pheidole pallidula (Nylander), Myrmozercon michaeli Joharchi sp. nov. from Messor sp. and Myrmozercon tauricus Trach & Khaustov from Crematogaster schmidti (Mayr) in the bark of grape vines. Myrmozercon is redefined, the distribution, and ...

Eight new species of the genus Batrisodes Reitter are described from continental China, seven of which were found in association with ants: B. abdominalissp. n. and B. tianmuensissp. n. with an Ectomomyrmex ant from Zhejiang; B. grossussp. n. with an Odontomachus ant from Guangxi; B. simianshanussp. n. with an Aphaenogaster ant from Chongqing; B. qiuluisp. n. with a Pheidole ant, B. xuhaoisp. n...

DNA sequencing is increasingly being used to assist in species identification in order to overcome taxonomic impediment. However, few studies attempt to compare the results of these molecular studies with a more traditional species delineation approach based on morphological characters. Mitochondrial DNA Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene was sequenced, measuring 636 base pairs, from 47 an...

Gynandromorphs, individuals that display a mosaic of male and female tissues or cell populations, have been extensively documented in solitary and social insects for over 100 years. Yet the evolutionary significance of gynandromorphs has remained obscure. Here we describe our discovery of a gynandromorph in the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole whose pattern of bilateral head mosaicism occurs rep...

The evolutionary success of ants and other social insects is considered to be intrinsically linked to division of labor among workers. The role of the brains of individual ants in generating division of labor, however, is poorly understood, as is the degree to which interspecific variation in worker social phenotypes is underscored by functional neurobiological differentiation. Here we demonstr...