Pogonomyrmex salinus
Images of Pogonomyrmex salinus - at various locations in Nevada, Oregon, and Washington states, USA.
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Pogonomyrmex salinus
● NW of Mattawa [Grant Co], WA USA [el. 152 m / 500 ft] view location in Google Maps » ● 9/4/08 8:12AM sunny, air temp: 21°C / 70°F
Pogonomyrmex salinus workers interacting near their nest entrance. It is interesting to note that in this image, the workers at bottom left, and top, are both missing leg segments - possibly as the result of conflict with Pogos from neighboring colonies. [scroll down for additional notes/references]
ADDITIONAL NOTES/REFERENCES:
It is common to see workers waving their antennae over each other as they come and go around the nest entrance. Ants from the same colony have a distinctive odor (detectable by the ants) - and with a quick sweep of the antennae, a worker can chemically discriminate between a nestmate and an intruder. The ants can also receive and transmit important task, and status-related cues that help regulate foraging and other behaviors (including those concerning reproductive status). This is all facilitated by chemical compounds (hydrocarbons) that are produced within the ants' bodies, and that eventually reside on the outer layer of the ant's exoskeleton (cuticle). The frequent grooming by ants, of nestmates and themselves, helps distribute these nest/task/status-recognition labels throughout the colony.
·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
·Hölldobler, B. & E.O. Wilson. 2009. The Superorganism. W.W. Norton & Company, New York and London
·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
pogopogonomyrmexpogonomyrmex salinusantsmacroharvester antspogos
