Harpegnathos saltator
Encyclopedia
Harpegnathos saltator, sometimes called Jerdon's jumping ant, is a species of ant
found in India
. They have long mandibles and have the ability to leap a few inches. They are large eyed and are active predators that hunt mainly in the early morning hours. The colonies are small and the difference between workers and queens is very slight.
The workers control the number of reproductives in the colony and will kill some of the gamergates (as in taxobox image). Workers use alarm pheromone
s which include 4-methyl-3-heptanone, 4-methyl-3-heptanol and isopentyl isopentanoate. H. saltator, like many species of ant produces 4-methyl-3-heptanone from mandibular glands. Dufour's gland secretions have been found to include a complex mixture of linear hydrocarbons from C15 to C25 with (Z)-9-tricosene being the main constituent along with other minor constituents like tetradecyl propionate and traces of tetradecyl acetate and dodecyl acetate. The postpharyngeal glands and cuticular wax includes methyl esters of common fatty acids.
Their leaps are accomplished by synchronized abduction of the middle and hind pairs of legs. They can jump up to 2 cm high and 10 cm long. These leaps are made not only to escape, but also to catch flying prey. The workers forage only during the cool hours of the morning and afternoon with a lull in activity during mid day.
The nest entrance is usually a low mound on the ground with the entrance surrounded by twigs and leaves. The nest entrance is closed by the ants in the evening and reopened in the day. The main chamber has a funnel like opening in the antechamber and this structure is believed to prevent flooding of the main chamber.
A study of the genome and expressed genes found that the production of enzymes that slow aging (telomerase and sirtuin deacetylases) are increased when workers turn into queens.
The following is the original description by T. C. Jerdon
.
The following is the taxonomic description from C. T. Bingham
's Fauna of British India (Hymenoptera - Volume 2):
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
found in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. They have long mandibles and have the ability to leap a few inches. They are large eyed and are active predators that hunt mainly in the early morning hours. The colonies are small and the difference between workers and queens is very slight.
Habits
Unlike other ants, they are seen singly or in small groups and their colonies consist of very small numbers of individuals. They are also unusual amongst ants in that the queen-worker difference is very limited and some workers can mate and lay fertilized eggs just like the queen. These workers are termed gamergates. New colonies are founded independently by single queens, and on aging they are replaced by several gamergates. The gamergates copulate with males from their own colonies and being inbred are related to the original founding queen. Colonies being very small, they never undergo fission to form new colonies.Pheromone
A pheromone is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual...
s which include 4-methyl-3-heptanone, 4-methyl-3-heptanol and isopentyl isopentanoate. H. saltator, like many species of ant produces 4-methyl-3-heptanone from mandibular glands. Dufour's gland secretions have been found to include a complex mixture of linear hydrocarbons from C15 to C25 with (Z)-9-tricosene being the main constituent along with other minor constituents like tetradecyl propionate and traces of tetradecyl acetate and dodecyl acetate. The postpharyngeal glands and cuticular wax includes methyl esters of common fatty acids.
Their leaps are accomplished by synchronized abduction of the middle and hind pairs of legs. They can jump up to 2 cm high and 10 cm long. These leaps are made not only to escape, but also to catch flying prey. The workers forage only during the cool hours of the morning and afternoon with a lull in activity during mid day.
The nest entrance is usually a low mound on the ground with the entrance surrounded by twigs and leaves. The nest entrance is closed by the ants in the evening and reopened in the day. The main chamber has a funnel like opening in the antechamber and this structure is believed to prevent flooding of the main chamber.
A study of the genome and expressed genes found that the production of enzymes that slow aging (telomerase and sirtuin deacetylases) are increased when workers turn into queens.
Description
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
.
The following is the taxonomic description from C. T. Bingham
Charles Thomas Bingham
Charles Thomas Bingham was an Irish military officer and entomologist.Bingham’s military career began in India where he was a soldier in the Bombay Staff Corps and later with the Bengal Staff Corps...
's Fauna of British India (Hymenoptera - Volume 2):
- worker: Head, thorax and pedicel ferruginous red, closely and rather coarsely punctured, granulate ; abdomen black, shining, not granulate, with punctures finer and more scattered ; mandibles, antennae and legs yellow ; the whole insect covered with short, sparse, erect pale hairs, and a minute, fine, sericeous shining pubescence on the mandibles, head, antennae, thorax and legs, visible only in certain lights. For the rest the characters of the genus.
- queen: Similar to the worker; the ocelli placed very low down, almost in the middle of the front of the head.
- male: Mandibles short, triangular, rather wide, but not elongate. Head somewhat longer than broad, strongly constricted behind the eyes and up to the occipital articulation. Concavity in front shorter and broader than in D. venator. Posterior face of the metanotum strongly margined. First abdominal segment pyriform elongate as in D. venator. No constriction between the basal two segments. A small median carina behind the occiput. Smooth and shining. Metanotum, pedicel and a part of the sides of the mesonotum coarsely rugose. Some foveae or obsolete striae on the rest of the thorax. Pilosity as in D. venator. Reddish brown, the pedicel darker. Abdomen brown. Legs and antennae pale testaceous. Wings hyaline, nervures and stigma very pale. (Based on Forel)