Ant and Related Entomology Terms

(terms restricted to the study of social insects; such as, ants and words that apply generally to entomology)

gynandromorph
An individual ant containing patches of both male and female tissue.
gyne
A female that is a member of the reproductive caste, whether functioning as a reproductive at the moment or not; hence, an ant queen in the broad sense.
gynecoid
Queen-like; specifically an ant worker with some typically queen features; such as, an enlarged abdomen.
gynergate
A female containing patches of tissue of both the queen and worker castes.
haplodiploidy
The mode of sex determination in which males are derived from haploid (single set of unpaired chromosomes) eggs and females from diploid (two sets of chromosomes) eggs.
haplometrosis
The founding of a colony by a single queen; as opposed to pleometrosis (multiple queens).
harvester ants and vegetation
There is general agreement among students of ant ecology that harvesters strongly alter the abundance and local distribution of flowering plants; especially, in deserts, grasslands, and other xeric (dry) habitats where the ants are most abundant.
harvesting ants
An ant species that feed substantially on seeds and store them in their nests.
hemimetabolous
Undergoing development which is gradual and lacks a sharp separation into larval, pupal, and adult stages.

Termites, for example, are hemimetabolous; as opposed to holometabolous (distinct larval, pupal, and adult stages).

hesmosis
Same as colony swarming, that is, the reproduction of colonies by the separation of colony fragments accompanied by fertile queens.
histolysis
The metabolic dissolution and absorption of a tissue; such as, the wing muscles of the young queen during colony founding.
holometabolous
Undergoing a complete metamorphosis (change in form and habits) during development, with distinct larval, pupal, and adult stages.
homeostasis
The maintenance of a steady state; especially, a physiological or social condition, by means of self-regulation through internal feedback responses.
homopteran
A member of, or pertaining to, the insect order Homoptera, which includes the aphids, jumping plant lice, treehoppers, spittlebugs, whiteflies, and related groups.
honey pot, honeypot
Referring to members of the specialized physiological caste of Myrmecocystus which store large quantities of sugary liquid in their hugely expanded crops.

Here are two additional word units that deal directly with "ants": formic- and myrmeco-.


Index of additional Scientific and Technological Topics.


Bibliography of Entomology or Insect Terms (The Ants).