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Monthly Archives: July 2010
Others want it too
So partridge pea sets out a buffet for a number of insects that it doesn’t need in order to attract some ants that it does need. So how do these insects find the extrafloral nectaries? I smelled a few … Continue reading
Posted in American snout, ants, butterflies, Cassia fasciculata, insects, plants, Uncategorized
Tagged extrafloral nectary, partridge pea
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Extrafloral what?
Extrafloral nectaries are places where plants release nectar–a mixture of sugars, water, and often other substances. It is believed that they serve primarily to attract ants, and that the ants attack other insects which inhabit those plants. This keeps the … Continue reading
Posted in American snout, ants, butterflies, Cassia fasciculata, extrafloral nectary, insects, partridge pea, plants, Uncategorized
Tagged ants, extrafloral nectary, partridge pea
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A cool drink of sugar water
Here is an American snout butterfly, Libytheana carinenta, drinking nectar from an extrafloral nectary on partridge pea, Cassia fasciculata.
But they don’t all get eaten.
One would think that all snails would be in danger of being eaten if they venture on to the nest. Last April, after a strong rain there were at least three slugs like this one roaming about on the nest. … Continue reading
Posted in ants, formica exsectoides, slugs, snails, Uncategorized
Tagged ants, slugs, snails
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More snails for dinner
This shell, likely a Vallonia species was on a stem of grass about an inch above the body of the mound. There seems to be some debris stuck to the top of the shell–presumably from the nest. Why the ants … Continue reading
Posted in ants, formica exsectoides, snails
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Meal leftovers
The mounds of Formica exsectoides sometimes contain the remnants of meals. Escargot is on the menu. To the right is Zonitoides arboreus, below and to the left is probably Gastrocopta contracta, which I removed from the mound and photographed in … Continue reading
Posted in ants, formica exsectoides, insects, snails
Tagged ants, formica exsectiodes, gastrocopta contracta, insects, snails, Zonitoides arboreus
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More Allgeheny Ants
I haven’t posted for several days because I have been on a vacation away from electronic stuff (for the most part). There is some information available about the Allgeheny mound building ant. It is thought that the mounds are a … Continue reading
More on the Allegheny Mound Ant
The mound is made up of clumps of dirt and pieces of plants. Occasionally the ants will move stuff around. The entrances to the nest change over time. The most permanent entrances seem to be on the sides of the … Continue reading
Default Americans
I am an American by default. I was born in the United States of America and therefore I am a citizen. Because I am an American I enjoy a number of freedoms that people in the rest of the world … Continue reading
An unfortunate ant
Of course, the Allegheny mound building ant is Formica exsectoides, which was the subject of my first post. I ran across two individuals on a walnut tree which had been killed in an unusual way. The thorax had been completely … Continue reading
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