A new ant species of Oxyepoecus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), with the description of Oxyepoecus browni gyne and new records for the genus

We describe a new species of Oxyepoecus Santschi, 1926, Oxyepoecus regularis sp. nov., based on workers and a gyne collected in "Caatinga Arbórea" (Arboreal Shrubland) in Milagres and "Mata Seca" (Dry Forest) in Boa Vista do Tupim, both in the state of Bahia, Brazil. The gyne of Oxyepoecus browni Albuquerque & Brandão, 2004, collected in the same leaf litter ant survey, is also described. In addition, we present new records for Oxyepoecus species in Northeastern Brazil.

House-infesting Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Municipality of Southeastern Brazil

In Brazil, since the studies on urban ants started only in the 1980's, the urban myrmecofauna is still poorly known. Therefore, we herein carried out a survey of the myrmecofauna associated with residences in the municipality of Campinas, São Paulo state, Brazil, with the aim of verifying the existing ant species and their dynamics, which may be used in pest management programs. For this survey, baits and manual collection were utilized in the peridomiciles and intradomiciles of 38 houses. 4,308 samples were obtained, 51% of which presented ants, from five subfamilies, 18 genera and 19 species. The predominant subfamily was Myrmicinae, with 8 species. The predominant species was Tapinoma melanocephalum. In the intradomicile, during the diurnal period, the most visited rooms were the kitchen and the living room; during the nocturnal period, the kitchen was the most visited room.

Arboreal thorn-dwelling ants use domatia morphology to partition nest sites on the savanna ant-plant, Vachellia erioloba

Nest site selection in arboreal, domatia-dwelling ants, particularly those coexisting on a single host plant, is little understood. To examine this phenomenon we studied the African savannah tree Vachellia erioloba, which hosts ants in swollen-thorn domatia. We found four ant species from different genera (Cataulacus intrudens, Tapinoma subtile, Tetraponera ambigua and an unidentified Crematogaster species). In contrast to other African ant plants, many V. erioloba trees (41 % in our survey) were simultaneously co-occupied by more than one ant species. Our study provides quantitative field data describing: (1) aspects of tree and domatia morphology relevant to supporting a community of mutualist ants, (2) how ant species occupancy varies with domatia morphology and (3) how ant colony size varies with domatia size and species. We found that Crematogaster sp. occupy the largest thorns, followed by C. intrudens, with T. subtile in the smallest thorns. Thorn age, as well as nest entrance hole size correlated closely with ant species occupant. These differing occupancy patterns may help to explain the unusual coexistence of three ant species on individual myrmecophytic trees. In all three common ant species, colony size, as measured by total number of ants, increased with domatia size. Additionally, domatia volume and species identity interact to predict ant numbers, suggesting differing responses between species to increased availability of nesting space. The proportion of total ants in nests that were immatures varied with thorn volume and species, highlighting the importance of domatia morphology in influencing colony structure.

Microfungal 'Weeds' in the Leafcutter Ant Symbiosis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Ecology of microfungal communities in gardens of fungus-growing ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a year-long survey of three species of attine ants in Central Texas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)National Science Foundation (NSF)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A survey of DNA methylation across social insect species, life stages, and castes reveals abundant and caste-associated methylation in a primitively social wasp

DNA methylation plays an important role in the epigenetic control of developmental and behavioral plasticity, with connections to the generation of striking phenotypic differences between castes (larger, reproductive queens and smaller, non-reproductive workers) in honeybees and ants. Here, we provide the first comparative investigation of caste- and life stage-associated DNA methylation in several species of bees and vespid wasps displaying different levels of social organization. Our results reveal moderate levels of DNA methylation in most bees and wasps, with no clear relationship to the level of sociality. Strikingly, primitively social Polistes dominula paper wasps show unusually high overall DNA methylation and caste-related differences in site-specific methylation. These results suggest DNA methylation may play a role in the regulation of behavioral and physiological differences in primitively social species with more flexible caste differences. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

New light on the systematics of fungi associated with attine ant gardens and the description of escovopsis kreiselii sp nov

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Swath sonar bathymetry during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XXVI/3 (PS75) with links to multibeam raw data files

Multibeam data were collected during R/V Polarstern cruise ANT-XXVI/3 along track lines of about 10,400 NM total length along transits, survey profiles and during stationary work. Departing in New Zealand the ship passed Pacific Antarctic Ridge heading to Ross Sea. Main working area was the Amundsen Sea and Bellingshausen Sea. Recorded bathymetry is supplementing existing tracks e.g. of R.V. James Clark Ross and R.V. Nathaniel B. Palmer. The refraction correction was achieved utilizing CTD profiles or by the system's own cross fan calibration. The quality of data might be reduced during bad weather periods or adverse sea ice conditions. The dataset contains raw data that are not processed and thus may contain errors and blunders in depth and position.