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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following terms describes an ant colony's maintenance by self-regulation?

2. Which of the following groups within an ant colony produces the strongest identification odor?

3. How many life cycle stages do all ant colonies go through?

4. Which of the following acts is NOT part of the Founding Stage in an ant colony?

5. Who removes a newly fertilized queen ant's wings?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the Hymenoptera order, and how do ants fit in this order?

2. How has the rearing of isolated ant larvae affected scientists' understanding of reductionism?

3. What happens during the ergonomic stage of an ant colony?

4. What is a "super colonial" ant colony?

5. What happens during the founding stage of an ant colony?

6. What malleable criteria were used to decide that ant colonies were units rather than large groups of individuals?

7. What realization did scientists make about the Myrmica ants ability to differentiate larvae from eggs?

8. How did the study of swallows affect the way scientists viewed spatial distribution?

9. How do various ant species, as discussed in this novel, protect their nests from spiders?

10. What is acoustic communication? How is it achieved within an ant community?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the introduction of the text, authors Holldolber and Wilson argue the importance of ants within the scientific and ecologic communities. Explain why ants are important to most landscapes in this world. Explain why Wilson believes vertebrate animals are favored over invertebrates in science books and studies.

Essay Topic 2

The process of brooding young larvae is one of the most important processes in an ant colony. Explain the role the queen ant has in breeding her young. Explain the role worker ants have in the brooding. Finally, explain how chemical alteration of the larvae affects their brooding process.

Essay Topic 3

Ants in the text have various types of nests they live in and build. Create a list of nest making strategies discussed in the text. Choose the nest making strategy you find most interesting, and describe it in as much detail as possible. Finally, explain the motivations behind this nest making strategy. Why does this particular ant species build this particular type of nest?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 882 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample