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Myrmecology (from Greek: μύρμεξ, myrmex, "ant"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of ants, a branch of entomology. Ants are often chosen as a study group to answer questions on the evolution of social systems. All ants are highly eusocial.
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Early references to ants
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 Pheidole and Messor which gather seeds and store them.
Solomon (Proverbs 6:6)
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise."[1] This refers to the fact that the ants are hard workers. A sluggard being a lazy person, Solomon said to work as the ants work.
Pliny
Pliny lauded the industry of the ant working through the summer nights.
Aelian
Claudius Aelianus 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
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 myrmecologists
Note: Names are listed alphabetically.
- Donat Agosti
- E. André
- Cesari Baroni Urbani
- Murray S. Blum (1929— ), Chemical ecologist, and an expert on pheromones.
- Barry Bolton, English ant taxonomist.
- Thomas Borgmeier
- William L. Brown, Jr.
- J. Clark
- Giovanni Cobelli (1849–1937), Italian entomologist. Director of the Rovereto museum.
- A. C. Cole, Jr.
- Cedric Collingwood
- W. C. Crawley
- William Steel Creighton
- Mark A. Deyrup
- Horace Donisthorpe (1870–1951), British myrmecologist. Named several new species.
- Carlos Emory
- Auguste Forel (1848–1931), Swiss myrmecologist, studied brain structure of humans and ants.
- Emil A. Goeldi
- Deborah Gordon (1955— ), Studies ant colony behavior and ecology.
- William H. Gotwald, Jr.
- William Gould (~1715–?), described by Horace Donisthorpe as "the father of British myrmecology".
- Robert E. Gregg
- Bert Hölldobler (1936— ), Pulitzer Prize wining German myrmecologist.
- Thomas C. Jerdon (1811–1872)
- Laurent Keller (1961— )
- Walter W. Kempf ( - 1976)
- N. Kusnezov
- John E. Lattke
- John T. Longino
- Sir John Lubbock (the 1st Lord and Baron Avebury) (1834–1913), wrote on hymenoptera sense organs.
- William Mann
- Gustav Mayr, Austrian entomologist and professor in Pest and Vienna. He specialised in Hymenoptera.
- C. Menozzi
- Derek Wragge Morley (1920–1969), research included genetics, social behaviour of animals, and the behaviour of agricultural pests.
- Fergus O'Rourke (1923— )
- F. Santschi
- Justin O. Schmidt, studies the chemical and behavioral defenses of ants, wasps, and arachnids.
- T. C. Schneirla
- S. O. Shattuck
- Frederick Smith (1805–1879), worked in the zoology department of the British Museum from 1849, specialising in the Hymenoptera.
- Marion R. Smith
- Roy R. Snelling (1934-2008), credited with many important finds of rare or new ant species.
- R. W. Taylor
- Walter Tschinkel
- James C. Trager
- Philip S. Ward
- E. Wasmann
- Neal A. Weber
- John Obadiah Westwood (1805–1893), English entomologist and archaeologist also noted for his artistic talents.
- William Morton Wheeler (1865–1937), curator of invertebrate zoology in the American Museum of Natural History. Described many new species.
- E.O. Wilson (1929— ), Pulitzer Prize wining American myrmecologist. Revolutionized the field of sociobiology.
Related terms
Myrmecochorous (adj.) dispersed by ants.
Myrmecophagous (adj.) feeding on ants.
Myrmecophile (n.) an organism that habitually shares an ant nest . myrmecophilous (adj.), myrmecophily (n.)
See also
- List of ants of Great Britain
- BWARS
- Formicarium, also known as ant farm
- Stigmergy, a biological mechanism attributed to the coordination of ants and other social insects
- Myrmecological news, an independent, international, non-profit, scientific journal devoted to ant research
