Ants of New Zealand

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Parution | 01/11/2007 |
Pages | 240 |
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Présentation
This book is the outcome of a lifetime’s research by the author. He reveals that there are 37 established species of ants in New Zealand, 11 of which are considered to be endemic. This leaves 26 that are exotic or introduced, 2 of which are recent arrivals. Three of 4 additional recent arrivals pose serious threats to New Zealand’s invertebrate fauna and economy if they ever become established. New Zealand’s endemic ant fauna comprises a mixture of ‘primitive’ and ‘advanced’ species. Like spiders, ants can tell us something about New Zealand’s Gondwanan past. Questions about the identification of ants are frequently fielded by museums. The illustrations and photographs in this volume will greatly assist this task. For would-be students of ants, there is also a useful chapter on collecting and studying the fauna. Warwick Don is an honorary curator in entomology, Otago Museum, having retired from the Department of Zoology, University of Otago.
Sommaire
- 9Foreword
- 11Preface
- 15Acknowledgements
- 17Abbreviations
- 19Chapter 1 Introducing the World of Ants
- 19Ants and humans
- 19Key events in insect evolution: the advent of flight, wing folding, a pupal stage, eusociality
- 20Ant evolution: early ants, the biological success of ants
- 22Classification
- 24The New Zealand ant fauna: origins, nature, invasive and tramp species
- 30The ant colony: composition and founding, nests, castes and worker polymorphism, division of labour
- 35Communication: Alarm and trail pheromones, colony odour, food exchange (trophallaxis)
- 37Identification: differences between ants and ant mimics, external anatomy, identification key
- 39Chapter 2 Ilustrated Key to the Ants of New Zealand (workers of established species only)
- 49Chapter 3 Ant Species
- 49Established species - endemic (E) and introduced
- 49Subfamily Amblyoponinae
- 56Subfamily Proceratiinae
- 59Subfamily Heteroponerinae
- 62Subfamily Ponerinae
- 76Subfamily Ectatomminae
- 84Subfamily Myrmicinae
- 152Subfamily Dolichoderinae
- 174Subfamily Formicinae
- 185Introduced species of doubtful establishment
- 185Subfamily Myrmeciinae
- 188Subfamily Ponerinae
- 190Subfamily Myrmicinae
- 191Subfamily Dolichoderinae
- 193Subfamily Formicinae
- 194Introduced species — recent arrivals
- 194Subfamily Ponerinae
- 196Subfamily Myrmicinae
- 200Subfamily Formicinae
- 49Established species - endemic (E) and introduced
- 203Chapter 4 Collecting, Preserving, Culturing and Studying Ants
- 211Chapter 5 Four Myrmecologists of the Past: William L. Brown Jr, Auguste-Henri Forel, WE. Moore, William Walter Smith
- 215Glossary
- 223Bibliography
- 231Index
- 238-239MAPS: North Island and South Island collecting areas
- 25 lectures
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