Myrmecology
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2008-07-07T21:20:56Z
AJseagull1
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/* List of notable myrmecologists */ descriptions of notable myrmecologists
{{zoology|Image:Meat_eater_ant_feeding_on_honey02.jpg}}
'''Myrmecology''' (from Greek: μύρμεξ, ''myrmex'', "ant"; and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the [[science|scientific]] study of [[ant]]s, 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]].
==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 (ant genus)|Messor]]'' which gather seeds and store them.
=====Solomon (Proverbs 6:6)=====
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise."<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/108/20/6.html Proverbs 6. The Holy Bible: King James Version<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
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 the Elder|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 (entomologist)|Frederick Smith]] ([[1805]]–[[1879]]), worked in the zoology department of the British Museum from 1849, specialising in the Hymenoptera.
* [[Marion R. Smith]]
* [[Roy Snelling|Roy R. Snelling]] ([[1934]]-[[2008]]), credited with many important finds of rare or new ant species.
* [[R. W. Taylor]]
* [[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.
* [[Edward Osborne Wilson|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==
*[[British Ants]]
*[[BWARS]]
*[[Formicarium]], also known as ant farm
*[[Stigmergy]], a biological mechanism attributed to the coordination of ants and other social insects
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.cctvcambridge.org/antsdocumentary Documentary about myrmecology]
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