Myrmecology

Myrmecology is the scientific study of ants, a branch of entomology. The ant, its habits, behaviours and society have long fascinated man. Ancient Judaic and Greek moral tales both tell show that these societies had observed the behaviour of ants and related it to that of people. In many ways this social understanding of the ant world is what myrmecology is all about.

Definitions

Myrmecology is the branch of entomology dealing with ants.

Myrmecochorous (adj.) dispersed by ants.

Myrmecophagous (adj.) feeding on ants.

Myrmecophile (n.) an organism that habitually shares an ant nest myrmecophilous adj., myrmecophily n.

Early Examples of human attempts to understand ant society

=Jewish Mosaic Law

Said that any seeds found in the nests of ants must be given to the poor: In Southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries, there are numerous species of ants of the genera Phelidole and Messor which gather seeds and store them.

=Solomon (Proverbs vi 6,7,8)

"Go to the ant and be wise" This Refers to the prudence of the same species of ant as mentioned above, in that they store the seeds they gather until they begin to sprout, then remove the sprout and leave them in the sun to dry, during which process the starch within the seeds turns to sugar. Clearly Solomon was not aware of this, but could see that the ants were looking after their provender.

=Pliny

Lauded the industry of the ant working through the summer nights.

=Aelian

Admired the complex arrangements of the galleries and chambers in the nests of ants and compared these with the labyrinths of Greece and Crete.

Later Studies

This early wonder at such great industry in such a small creature resulted in the birth of Myrmecology, and the discovery that many of the features of the way of life of ants are similar to our own, and the extent of the great diversity of species which belong to the ant kingdom. The similarities between primitive ponerine ants found in different continents is an important pointer to the periods when land bridges were extant and also to the nature of the pre-ant.

List of notable Myremecologists

Murray S. Blum (1929- )
Barry Bolton
Cedric Collingwood
Mark A. Deyrup
Horace Donisthorpe (1870 - 1951)
Auguste Forel (1848 - 1931)
William Gould (17?? - ????)
Thomas C. Jerdon (1811 - 1872)
Sir John Lubbock (the 1st Lord and Baron Avebury) (1834–1913)
Derek Wragge Morley (1920 - 1969)
John Obadiah Westwood (1805 - 1893)
William Morton Wheeler (1865-1937)
E.O. Wilson (1929 -)
Bert Hölldobler (1936 - )
Frederick Smith (1805 - 1879)

External Links

Myrmecology Portal -- Everything about ants