Myrmecology: Difference between revisions

'''Myrmecology''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ɜːr|m|ᵻ|ˈ|k|ɒ|l|ə|dʒ|i}}; from Greek: [[wikt:μύρμηξ|μύρμηξ]], ''myrmex'', "ant" and λόγος, ''logos'', "study") is a branch of [[entomology]] focusing on the [[science|scientific]] study of [[ant]]s. Some early myrmecologists considered ant society as the ideal form of society and sought to find solutions to human problems by studying itthem.{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}} Ants continue to be a model of choice for the study of questions on the evolution of [[social system]]s because of their complex and varied forms of [[eusocial|]]ity (social organization]]). Their diversity and prominence in ecosystems also has made them important components in the study of [[biodiversity]] and conservation. In the 2000sRecently, ant colonies beganare to bealso studied and modeled for their relevance in [[machine learning]], [[complex network|complex interactive network]]s, [[stochastics|stochasticity]] of encounter and [[interaction network]]s, [[parallel computing]], and other computing fields.<ref name="Ant Encounters Interaction Networks">{{cite book |isbn= 978-0691138794|title=Ant Encounters Interaction Networks and Colony Behavior |author=Deborah Gordon |location=New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press| year=2010 |page=143}}</ref>

The word myrmecology was coined by [[William Morton Wheeler]] (1865–1937), although human interest in the life of ants goes back tofurther, with numerous ancient timesfolk references. The earliest scientific thinking based on observation of ant life was that of [[Auguste Forel]] (1848–1931), a Swiss psychologist who initially was interested in ideas of instinct, learning, and society. In 1874 he wrote a book on the ants of Switzerland, ''Les fourmis de la Suisse'', and he named his home ''La Fourmilière'' (the ant colony). Forel's early studies included attempts to mix species of ants in a colony. He noted [[Polydomy#Organizational terminology|polydomy and monodomy]] in ants and compared them with the structure of nations.<ref name=sleigh>Sleigh, Charlotte (2007) Six Legs Better: A Cultural History of Myrmecology. The Johns Hopkins University Press. {{ISBN|0-8018-8445-4}}</ref>

Wheeler looked at ants in a new light, in terms of their social organization, and in 1910 he delivered a lecture at [[Woods Hole, Massachusetts]],{{why|reason=Why there? The oceanographic Institute was not founded until 1930.|date=July 2024}} on "The Ant-Colony as an Organism", which pioneered the idea of superorganisms. Wheeler considered [[trophallaxis]] or the sharing of food within the colony as the core of ant society. This was studied using a dye in the food and observing how it spread in the colony.<ref name=sleigh/>

Some, such as [[Horace Donisthorpe]], worked on the systematics of ants. This tradition continued in many parts of the world until advances in other aspects of [[biology]] were made. The advent of genetics, and ideas in [[ethology]] and its evolution, led to new thought. This line of enquiry was pioneered by [[E. O. Wilson]], who founded the field termed as [[sociobiology]].<ref name=sleigh/>

{{refimprove|unreferenced section|date=JulyApril 20242018}}