Miscellaneous Behaviors
Meet the Pogos! These images depict Pogo
workers at various locations in North America.
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Pogonomyrmex anzensis
● Anza-Borrego Desert S.P., Ocotillo Wells Vehicular Rec. Area, [San Diego Co], CA USA [el. 121 m / 398 ft] map location not yet available » ● 4/06/11 12:37PM overcast, breezy, air temp: 30°C / 86°F
[Image 1 of 2] As mentioned earlier, these Pogonomyrmex anzensis ants did not stand still, or congregate around the nest entrance - making them very difficult 'moving targets' for imaging. Thankfully, a couple of workers paused for a few moments to engage in some self-grooming behavior. The forelegs were drawn along the length of the antennae, and also inserted between the ants' mandibles. Not visible in these images are the tiny pectinate (comb-like) tibial spurs on the ants' forelegs. These structures, combined with grooves on the legs themselves form the tibio-tarsal antenna cleaners, through which the antennae are drawn. [scroll down for additional notes/references]
ADDITIONAL NOTES/REFERENCES:
These grooming actions not only remove fungus and other debris, but may also serve to spread antibiotic secretions over the ant's body. In many ant lineages, much of this bacteria-fighting substance is secreted from the metapleural gland, located on the ant's mesosoma, the 'middle' body part (also called the alitrunk). There is also evidence that some ants posses a gland that is incorporated in the 'antenna cleaner' (strigilis) itself. It is unclear if the secretions from this gland aid solely in the cleaning of the antenna, or serve as a means of chemical communication - perhaps they fulfill both of these roles. As mentioned elsewhere on this site, grooming (and self-grooming) behaviors also distribute the chemical compounds ('cuticular hydrocarbons') that allow ants to discriminate between nestmates and intruders, regulate worker tasks, and also permit identification of reproductive status between colony members.
·Fernández-Marín, H., J.K. Zimmerman, S.A. Rehner & W.T. Wcislo. 2006. Active Use of the Metapleural Gland by Ants in Controlling Fungal Infection. Proc. R. Soc. B (2006) 273, 1689–1695 doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3492 Published online 15 March 2006
·Greene, M.J. & D.M. Gordon. 2007. How Patrollers Set Foraging Direction in Harvester Ants. The American Naturalist, Vol. 170, No. 6, December 2007
·Hölldobler, B. & E.O. Wilson. 1990. The Ants. Cambridge, MA, Belknap/Harvard Press
·Schönitzer, K., H. Dott, R.R. Melzer. 1996. The Antenna Cleaner Gland in Messor rufitarsis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Tissue and Cell, 1996 28(1) 107-113, Pearson Professional Ltd.
·Wagner, D.,M. Tissot, W. Cuevas, and D.M. Gordon. 2000. Harvester Ants Utilize Cuticular Hydrocarbons in Nestmate Recognition. Journal of Chemical Ecology, Vol. 26, No. 10, 2000
