ℹ️ Full article available via the link in our bio or at: bit.ly/4unuxu6
❓ Had you ever thought of nests as small biodiversity hotspots for arthropods, including ants? We look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments.
#AIM #Myrmecology #Ecology #Biodiversity #Arthropods
🌍 The study highlights that nests built by vertebrates are key resources for many invertebrates, meaning that the decline of nesting birds and mammals could have indirect effects on the conservation of these groups.
🔬 The results indicate that arthropod composition changes depending on the nesting stage and the time elapsed since abandonment, whereas factors such as nest size or materials explain little of these differences.
🌿 The research, carried out in the primeval forest of Białowieża (Poland), compares the fauna found in abandoned nests with that in the surrounding leaf litter, showing that nests host more abundant, distinct and slightly more diverse communities.
🐜 Bird nests as refuges for arthropod biodiversity
📄 Principal investigator Marta Maziarz, with the collaboration of @trigos-peral.bsky.social, has taken part in a study analysing how the nests of the wood warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) function as microhabitats for arthropod communities.
ℹ️ Artículo completo en nuestra BIO o en: bit.ly/4unuxu6
❓ ¿Habías pensado alguna vez en los nidos como pequeños puntos calientes de biodiversidad para artrópodos, incluidas las hormigas? Te leemos en comentarios
#AIM #Mirmecología #Ecología #Biodiversidad #Artrópodos
🌍 El estudio resalta que los nidos construidos por vertebrados son recursos clave para muchos invertebrados, por lo que el declive de aves y mamíferos nidificantes podría tener efectos indirectos sobre la conservación de estos grupos.
🔬 Los resultados indican que la composición de artrópodos cambia según la fase de nidificación y el tiempo transcurrido desde el abandono, mientras que factores como el tamaño o los materiales del nido explican poco estas diferencias.
🌿 El trabajo, realizado en el bosque primario de Białowieża (Polonia), compara la fauna presente en nidos abandonados con la de la hojarasca cercana, mostrando que los nidos albergan comunidades más abundantes, diferenciadas y ligeramente más diversas.
📄 La investigadora principal Marta Maziarz, con la colaboración de nuestra socia @trigos-peral.bsky.social, participa en un estudio que analiza cómo los nidos del mosquitero silbador (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) funcionan como microhábitats para comunidades de artrópodos.
🐜 Nidos de aves como refugios de biodiversidad de artrópodos
▶️ If you were unable to attend, the lecture is now available at: www.youtube.com/live/vVDFQ9t...
❓ Have you ever observed red wood ants during your field outings? We’d love to read your experiences in the comments.
#AIM #Myrmecology #Formica #ScienceCommunication #AIMNews
👤 The speaker was introduced by Xim Cerdá, President of the Iberian Myrmecology Association, in a session that brought together researchers and people interested in the ecology, biogeography and taxonomy of the so-called “red wood ants” of the genus Formica.
🏛️ This week a lecture took place at the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) featuring Bernhard Seifert (Senckenberg Museum of Natural History), one of the leading international authorities on ants of the genus Formica.
🎤 Talk on red wood ants at the Doñana Biological Station
▶️ Si no pudiste asistir, la conferencia ya está disponible en: www.youtube.com/live/vVDFQ9t...
❓ ¿Has tenido ocasión de observar hormigas rojas de bosque en tus salidas de campo? Te leemos en comentarios
#AIM #Mirmecología #Formica #DivulgaciónCientífica #AIMNews
👤 El conferenciante fue presentado por Xim Cerdá, nuestro presidente de la Asociación Ibérica de Mirmecología en una sesión que reunió a investigadores y personas interesadas en la ecología, biogeografía y taxonomía de las llamadas “hormigas rojas de bosque” del género Formica.
🏛️ Esta semana ha tenido lugar una conferencia en la Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC) con la participación de Bernhard Seifert (Senckenberg Museum of Natural History), uno de los referentes internacionales en el estudio de hormigas del género Formica.
🎤 Conferencia sobre hormigas rojas de bosque en la Estación Biológica de Doñana
A Stictoponera menadensis (subfamily Ectatomminae) worker foraging in the leaf litter at Danum Valley, Sabah, plus another specimen on white background.
Colonies of this species often lack queens. Instead, unlike in most ants, workers can mate and take over egg laying as so-called “gamergates”.
How fun! I was invited to write a "Species Spotlight" for Nature Ecology & Evolution @natecoevo.nature.com and I chose my favorite species the Florida turtle ant Cephalotes varians! rdcu.be/e5EZK Including a stunning photo of ants I collected by @alexwild.bsky.social
Portraits of the Dolichoderus colony members inhabiting the epiphytic myrmecophyte (ant plant) in Danum Valley, Borneo:
A queen, a worker, and a male.
Six stout dark-colored ants stand facing in random directions on an orange-red substrate, in top view. The ants’ butts are shaped like pointy hearts.
A few tropical acrobat ants taking nectar from a Heliconia flower. Minca, Colombia.
Macro photo of a shiny, light orange ant with a large head and black eyes, standing on a green leaf in side view.
The beautiful Camponotus kaura is a night-active ant endemic to the eastern Caribbean. El Yunque, Puerto Rico.
This is…not an ant. It’s the ant-mimicking nymph of a true bug (Heteroptera). Check out the long proboscis, which the bug has inserted into a leaf to suck phloem sap. Proof once again that everything wants to be an ant. Sabah, Borneo.
Here is another ant-mimicking spider from Sabah, this time from Danum Valley. This is a jumping spider in the subtribe Myrmarachnina, literally meaning “ant spiders”. Constrictions of the cephalothorax and opisthosoma give it the appearance of an ant with a separate head and “wasp waist”.
In the Myrmicaria ant garden, I made a serendipitous discovery: an ant-mimicking spider in the genus Serendib (possibly S. volans?), which I hadn’t seen before. The first image shows a Myrmicaria worker on the carton nest for comparison. The second image shows the spider. Tambunan, Sabah.
In Asian rainforests, several ant species in the genera Camponotus, Crematogaster, Diacamma, Pheidole and Philidris construct ant gardens by cultivating epiphytic plants in arboreal carton nests. This image shows such an ant garden in Tambunan, Sabah.
OK, one more Leptogenys from Danum Valley before we move on to other ants, just to show off the diversity of this genus. These ants are from a large (many hundred if not thousands of workers) colony I found in and under a rotting log. I don’t know which species this is - suggestions are welcome.
Leptogenys diminuta is another species with army ant-like behavior. Colonies are smaller though, measuring only a few hundred workers. The ants are nomadic and hunt in columns. Sabah, Borneo.
