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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. What gender of ants typically makes up an ant colony?

2. Which of the following is NOT an example of ritualized communication?

3. Which of the following are used by worker ants to stimulate new larvae growth?

4. How many categories of ant communication are there?

5. What is the fastest way to increase the size of an ant colony?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are "Tramp Species" of ants?

2. What are barrack nests?

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

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

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

6. What claim of colony odor did scientists Jaffe and Sanchez make in 1984?

7. How does the caste system within a given ant colony change according to the demographic?

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

9. What study was performed on fire ants leading to the understanding the foragers will respond to the nutritional needs of their colony?

10. How have leafcutter ants altered the landscape in which they live?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kin selection is an important part of ant colony success. Describe the two main arguments to kin selection as given by Darwin and Hamilton. How did their opinions of kin selection differ? Finally, explain the two main hypotheses surrounding kin selection - Mutualism, and Parental Manipulation. How have these hypothesis affected understanding of kin selection as a whole?

Essay Topic 2

Female ants are thought to be more valuable than male ants within the colony. Explain the role that male ants play within an ant colony. Explain why male ants are genetically created to have a shorter life span than females. Explain how ant colonies survive as almost solely female operations.

Essay Topic 3

In the study of kin recognition, scientists performed studies on various other animals and insects in the attempt of understanding how colonized animals recognize one another in a swarm. Choose two studies that did not involve ant colonies and explain their findings in regards to kin recognition. Explain how these two studies affected the way ant kinship was understood.

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