Order: Hymenoptera Ant, bee, wasp 2 pr wings, membranous Social and solitary Most larvae legless
Bee Castes Worker Queen Drone
Communication Dances Round Dance Waggle Dance Sickle Close food (<80m in Carniolan bee) Livelier = better source; also tells smell and taste Waggle Dance Further food (>80m) Tells direction, distance, abundance, smell and taste Sickle Intermediate form in some races of bees (Italian)
Waggle Dance Shall we Dance?
Benefits of Uniramians Food for other animals Edible by us (except U.S.??) Produce useful products (silk, medicine, etc.) Detrivores/scavengers Parasitize insects harmful to crops
Benefits of Uniramians Pollination 1/3 of all food, spices and condiments Beverages Fibers Medicines Fats and oils $20 billion annually in U.S. alone!
Look at 1 species: Honeybee Role as a pollinator 2.5 million honeybee colonies rented annually in U.S. for 90 crops Products Produced Honey - Royal Jelly Propolis - Bee brood Wax - Mead (fermented honey water) Pollen
Group Activity Make a Concept Map of the Honeybee
Detriments of Uniramians Spread of disease – mosquitoes, lice Destroy property – termites, booklice Parasites of plants or animals Poisonous or painful bites Destruction of food crops
Insect Venom Honeybee – stinger is modified ovipositor Pulled out when bee stings mammal Bee dies So which castes sting? Schmidt Sting Index
Honeybee Venom Venom – 40+ chemicals Melittin – 50% pain Hyaluronidase – 3% opens spaces for venom to enter Phospholipase A2 – 15% hydrolyzes phospholipids The major allergen Apamine – 3% Neurotoxin; muscle tremors Mast cell degranulating peptide – 2% histamine release in wasps or other species 27% other (Histamine, etc.)
Ant Venom Contain high concentrations of alkaloids Piperidines (Fire Ants) Pyrrolidines Pumiliotoxins Formic Acid (Formicinae ants)
Other venoms Centipedes Millipedes Geophilida – secrete cyanogenic compounds Very effective against ants and spiders Scolopendrida – mix of stuff to paralyze or kill Millipedes Benzoquinones, Hydrogen cyanide, etc.
Bibliography BIODIDAC. 2005. Biology Image Bank. http://biodidac.bio.uottawa.ca/ Buss, Lyle. 2003. University of Florida and Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/ants/harvester03.htm Caron, Dewey M. 1999. Honey Bee Biology and beekeeping. Wicwas Press, LLC. Carper. VA. 2003. Goliath Beetle. USFWS. http://www.funkman.org/animal/insect/goliathbeetle.html Conniff, Richard. June 2003. “Stung: How tiny little insects get us to do exactly as they wish.” in Discover P. 67-70. Eisner, Thomas, Maria Eisner, and Melody siegler. 2005. Secret Weapons: defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-legged Creatures. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Mass. Ewen, Sally. 2005. Microcosmos Photography. http://www.microcosmos.org.uk/pics/pics3/large_pharnacia.jpg Merck Manual. 2003. Bee, Wasp, Hornet, and Ant Stings. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec24/ch298/ch298g.html Pollinator Partnership. 2007. What is Pollination? www.pollinator.org/pollination.htm Rold, Robert. 2002. Daviess County Audubon. http://audubon.wku.edu/daviess/ivory-marked_beetle.htm