Navigation Links
Fire ants: Their true story told by the scientist who loves them

t of S. invicta's most endearing qualities he cites abundance; there's no shortage of lab samples. It's a low-maintenance animal without highly specialized habits; what scientists learn can be applied to other types of ants as well. Naturally, there's no end to public interest in the exotic transplant ?albeit mostly in the form of fear and loathing. The loathing seems a little unfair, since opportunistic fire ants will devour termites, ticks, weevils, mosquitoes and other major threats to Southern plants, property and people.

Like a sort of subterranean family album, "The Fire Ants" details emigration, growth, struggle, development and death in a complex nest of interdependent relationships marked by cooperation, competition and conflict. There's a queen ?sometimes lots of them ?but everybody has a vital role to play. Change is inevitable. So are class, sex, betrayal and new beginnings.

And size matters, says Tschinkel. In mature colonies, unusual variability known as polymorphism produces big-headed workers 20 times heavier than their smallest counterparts.

Between chapters science-rich enough for biologists but accessible to educated readers, "The Fire Ants" has "Interludes" ?wry asides on the pleasures and pitfalls as scientists measure and manipulate the ants they love (and that do indeed sting them). Tschinkel's anecdote on shelter is titled "There's Nothing Like Getting Plastered," and among others, there's also "Another Immigrant Moves West," "You Call That Pain?" "The Heartbreak of Parasitoids" and "Gang Wars."

With sizeable grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation, the intrepid researcher has probed the secrets of ant society from North Florida's Apalachicola National Forest to the pastures of Southwood Plantation ?a corporate cattle farm just east of Tallahassee ?to area strip malls. The parking lot behind a local grocery store is a particular favorite.

"Fire ants specialize
'"/>

Source:Florida State University


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Drunken elephants: The marula fruit myth
2. The evolution of food plants: Genetic control of grass flower architecture
3. Scientists Propose Sweeping Changes to Naming of Bird Neurosystems to Acknowledge Their True Brainpower
4. Newly Discovered Branding Process Helps Immune System Cells Pick Their Fights
5. Affymetrix and bioMerieux Extend Their Agreement on GeneChip(R) Technology to Breast Cancer Diagnostics
6. Where Bacteria Get Their Genes
7. Leprosy genome tells story of human migrations, French researchers report in Science
8. Can our genes tell the story of our divergence?
9. Divergent life history shapes gene expression in brains of salmon
10. Restaurant seafood prices since 1850s help plot marine harvests through history
11. Finding rewrites the evolutionary history of the origin of potatoes
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Fire ants Their true story told the scientist who loves them

(Date:5/22/2013)... fatty acids in fish oil have long been thought ... American Heart Association currently recommends eating at least two ... in omega 3s. However, the mechanism behind this protective ... scientists led by Jason R. Carter of Michigan Technological ... that fish oil might specifically counteract the detrimental effects ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... of potential environmental and human health effects from ... year has led scientists to recommend stronger government ... lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery materials. That,s the conclusion of ... Environmental Science & Technology . , Oladele A. ... have become mainstays for powering everything from smart ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... responsible for legionellosis, an infectious disease that can lead ... has developed a complex method enabling it to camouflage ... these acting against the infectious bacteria. , Research led ... which teams from the National Institute of Health (NIH) ... Barcelona (BSC) have also participated, has described for the ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Fish oil may help the heart beat mental stress 2Mechanism discovered which aids Legionella to camouflage itself in the organism 2
... Southwestern Medical Center researchers have identified unique metabolic properties that ... to survive and replicate in low-oxygen environments. In a ... Cell Stem Cell , investigators found that the low-oxygen microenvironments ... tolerated by a type of stem cell used as the ...
... 2010 The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular ... response to the Aug. 23 ruling in the U.S. ... a preliminary injunction barring federal funding of embryonic stem-cell ... decision, which came in response to a lawsuit filed ...
... consume foods purchased in vending machines are more likely to ... with being overweight, obese or at risk for chronic health ... research from the University of Michigan Medical School. The ... bars and other related sales that compete with USDA lunch ...
Cached Biology News:Researchers identify how bone-marrow stem cells hold their 'breath' in low-oxygen environments 2American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology reacts to stem-cell ruling 2Children who eat vended snack foods face chronic health problems, poor diet 2
(Date:5/22/2013)... , May 22, 2013  Superior Controls, Inc. ... 2013" by Business NH Magazine.  For the past ... organizations that distinguish themselves with extraordinary business and ... to receive this honor," said Rick ... with any recognition, this award is a reflection ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... (PRWEB) May 22, 2013 Mold remediation could ... said that there is a way to cut down the ... on its latest post the details of a method ... money. , Mold could be prevented, My Cleaning Products said. ... company stated that a mold remediation must then be promptly ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... May 22, 2013 The ability ... deciphering the information they encode. There are now ... (deep sequencing of ribosome protected fragments) that dramatically ... , Keynote speakers include Dr. Jonathan Weissman, an ... the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who will present ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... 21, 2013 Custom Learning Designs, ... eLearning solution using Tin Can API combined with ... CLD is a leading developer of training content ... companies worldwide. , Tin Can API is ... learners and trainers more accurately measure the Return ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Superior Controls of Seabrook, NH named Business of the Year for 2013 by Business NH Magazine 2How to Kill Mold While Saving Thousands of Dollars on Mold Remediation Projects Explained by My Cleaning Products 2Monitoring Protein Synthesis One Codon at a Time Through Ribosome Profiling, a Webinar Hosted by Xtalks 2CLD Integrates Tin CAN API with its eLearning Solutions and Launches its Excelerometer Tracking Statement Dashboard 2CLD Integrates Tin CAN API with its eLearning Solutions and Launches its Excelerometer Tracking Statement Dashboard 3
... Integrated Knowledge Center Outside the United States. , ... ... Knowledge Center (DKC) today, 17 months after breaking ground last summer. ... the city’s Genome Valley, the center will be a research hub ...
... York, Nov. 21 Eli Lilly and,Company (NYSE: ... ) today,announced the successful completion of the previously announced tender ... of ImClone at a price of $70.00 per share in ... November 20, 2008. , ...
... New hire brings over 20 years of commercial life sciences ... SAN DIEGO, Nov. 21 Cyntellect, a privately-held life ... analysis and manipulation systems, announced today that it has appointed ... America. Andre will be responsible for the sales of Cyntellect,s ...
Cached Biology Technology:DuPont Opens Research & Development Center in India 2DuPont Opens Research & Development Center in India 3Lilly Completes Cash Tender Offer for ImClone Systems 2Lilly Completes Cash Tender Offer for ImClone Systems 3Cyntellect Appoints Former BD Biosciences Executive Andre Lubarsky as Director of Sales - North America 2
... Lipid adsorption and clarification reagent; ... the purification of antibodies, proteins, nucleic ... has negligible cross-reactivity, and improves downstream ... a solid-phase, non-ionic adsorbent supplied as ...
... Stabilizer is a bovine protein-free alternative to ... aqueous solution that contains non-toxic chemicals in ... 6.6 - 7.2, and does not contain ... activity of antibodies and other biomolecules that ...
... is designed to stabilize the biomolecules ... storage. There are neither animal ... is a convenient 10 times solution ... superior to other traditional lyophilizing additives ...
... The CERTOMAT IS, a true benchtop incubator-shaker, ... shakers. Having a footprint of 540 x ... a large incubation chamber (370 x 505 x ... orbits, the CERTOMAT IS is ideal for shaking ...
Biology Products: