Written by Ninez Manaloto

22 August 2014

THE ANT SITUATIONER: 101 WAYS OF FAMILIARITY WITH ANTS
RELATIONSHIPS ARE MESSY
How would a regular person without
prior knowledge to ants describe it? Based
on my own experience, Id say an ant stings.
They invade my favourite dish and spoil my
mood. Had I known that ants may be blind
or had tiny eyes (Euprenolepis) or had no
eyes at all (Probolomyrmex) and had only
three (3) teeth like the Prionopelta, Id
gladly share my food out of pity. But since
some of them are born slim and slender, I
take that backbecause its unfair while I
gain all those pounds. And guess what, they
can be smooth and almost hairless
(Liomyrmex) too while Filipinas together
with the Indians spend on hair removal
treatments. Unlike me, some of them are
timid (Gesomyrmex) while others are way
too aggressive and locally dominant that
which we fondly call the Hantik or
Odontomachus for the nerd. The love for
fruit however makes me more familiar with
ants like Dolichoderus which thrive on
makopa and lanzones. It also loves the
limelight living in highly urban
(Romblonella) and agricultural (Solenopsis)
areas while others love the quiet suburbs.
Speaking of love, Cardiocondyla has an
interesting courtship behaviour, hence the
name, Cardio.
MMA CHAMPIONSHIP
My grandpa used to burn ants with
his cigarette one by one as they fall in line
for their death march, a little gore but at
the time, it amused me. If the ants heard
me and our sizes were levelled in an MMA
match, Id be dead. V, short for Vombisidris
not vendetta would represent the
Philippines! Odontoponera will hunt me all
by itself. Before the attack happens, I can
only wish that I can just roll into a ball like
Basiceros and Calyptomyrmex and glide
back to a tree trunk like an acrobat
(Crematogaster) after falling. The best part
is the invisible cloak ant version 1.0,
mimicry by Camponotus.
FREE LOADERS
While fire ants may love death
matches and live independently, others live
in colonies because as there is the saying no
man is an island, there also is no ant is an
island. Continuing with the social sciences,
humans can be free loaders or simply
parasites to fellow men as do ants who are
Kleptoparasites of termites (Liomyrmex).
There are so many other ways to compare
man with ants and one would be specific for
the crammer student who suddenly
becomes nocturnal and fast moving
(Iridomyrmex) during the exams and late
night parties but is in fact diurnal naturally.
HANNIBAL CANNIBAL
Written by Ninez Manaloto
22 August 2014

I used to have a sadistic treatment
over ants. Judge me all day but hear this.
Cerapachys raid ant nests, sting the larva
and pupae and keep them alive while
sucking the life out of them. Now, that is
carnage. On the other hand, Discothyrea
feed on arthropod eggs and Lophomyrmex
feed on arthropods in general. Of course,
they cannot have the same diets the same
way we are meat lovers or vegan of all
sorts. So Leptogenys munch on centipedes,
Sigmatomma on beetle larvae and Myopias
on springtails, millipedes and other ants.
Enough of the cannibalism and carnivores,
some of them opt for fruit like ripe bananas
(Gesomyrmex) and honeydew (Nylanderia).
And most of them can live with just our
crumbs of loving cookies, sugar bits and
bobs.
COLLECTORS ITEM
Ants seem to be very evasive
organisms just as they are timid and shy but
also fighters in their own right. Collecting
them will seem difficult for the untrained
researcher and will take a little getting used
to. However, there are instant ways of
capturing them without actually picking
them singly. The strategy lies in their
behaviour, habitat and most especially their
nutrition. Handing what they want will
ensure a whole colony in captivity. Since we
know very well that they love. Baits have
evolved creatively from tuna/ honey
(Gauromyrmex), sugar/ protein
(Lophomyrmex), edible mushroom
(Euprenolepis) and centipede carcasses
(Leptanilla). And without prior baiting, ants
can be readily available by flipping over
rocks, sifting leaf litter, hand collection from
foliage and beating low vegetation on white
sheet.


WELCOME TO MY CRIB
Ants live in diverse habitats
terrestrially. They may live on trees, leaves,
on/in/under the ground. The trees are
chosen according to the presence of cavities
or if they are dead (Aenictus)or
(Camponoctus) living. The nests of ants
differ in materials just as we use steel,
cement and wood. Theirs are made of
rotten wood or carton, larval silk
(Oecophylla), chewed up plant fibers
(Polyrachis). Their houses also include doors
just for one entry (Odontoponera).
ENDING REMARKS
All those mentioned are a summary
of the 11 ant families and 92 genera found
in the Philippines. Shared characteristics are
known to a few while some are very distinct
for a single genus.
Having been exposed to ants in the
wild this last summer, the horizon seemed
to be far and wide to be killing ants. A
whole other world of these little organisms
Written by Ninez Manaloto
22 August 2014

became interesting especially when viewed
under the lenses of Sir Dave General.
Like any other organism, ants are
diverse. However, the extent to which their
biodiversity exists is currently under study.
Only a few places in the Philippines have
been studied. Many, we hope so are yet to
be discovered. A few genera are in great
need of taxonomic revision while others are
established. Currently, there are several
interesting ant characteristics not known to
many as discussed above. In addition to
that, their colours make them more
interesting: black, yellow green, red, yellow,
reddish orange, gold, blue and green.
Ant surveys may serve as qualitative
compasses to the level of disturbance in an
area. Inventories may be conducted pre and
post mining or logging.
Although biogeography of ants is
presently under construction, ant specialists
are looking forward to their future
successors in the field by inspiring them to
do research and contribute in the
establishment of taxonomic keys, collection
methods and area coverage.
Reference:
General, DM and Alpert, GD. 2012. A synoptic
review of the ant genera (Hymenoptera,
Formicidae) of the Philippines. ZooKeys. 200:1-
111.