Dinoponera australis
Encyclopedia
Dinoponera australis is a species
of ant
notable for its lack of distinct queen caste
. Studies have shown that fat
storage in this species is related to the division of labour
in the colony
and non-reproductive indiviuals are characterized with a lower lipid
count than reproductives.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of ant
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...
notable for its lack of distinct queen caste
Queen ant
A queen ant is an adult, reproducing female ant in an ant colony; generally she will be the mother of all the other ants in that colony. Some female ants do not need to mate to produce offspring, reproducing through asexual parthenogenesis or cloning and all of those offspring will be female.Ant...
. Studies have shown that fat
Fat
Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure...
storage in this species is related to the division of labour
Labour
Labor might refer to:*Labor, an obsolete unit of area*Josef Labor, a composer, pianist, organist, and teacher*Labor, SloveniaLabour or labor might refer to:* Employment of any kind* Manual labour, physical work done by people...
in the colony
Ant colony
An ant colony is an underground lair where ants live, eat and mate. Colonies consist of a series of underground chambers, connected to each other and the surface of the earth by small tunnels. There are rooms for nurseries, food storage, and mating...
and non-reproductive indiviuals are characterized with a lower lipid
Lipid
Lipids constitute a broad group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins , monoglycerides, diglycerides, triglycerides, phospholipids, and others...
count than reproductives.