#2161 - Meranoplus oceanicus - Shield Ant
Found across much of Australia, from coast to coast, if the scattered records are anything to go by. I was lucky to spot her at all - she's under 2mm long.
The 80-plus species are found in the Old World tropics, and Australia. In Africa species are known to nest in the ground, in rotten wood, or under stones, but the Australian fauna isn't as well studied, apparently. Although we do know that Australian Meranoplus are omnivorous, opportunistic granivores, or specialised granivores. They forage both nocturnally and during the day, recruiting other workers with a pheremone trail produced from their oversized Dufour's Glands.
When disturbed they exhibit a ‘faking-death’ behaviour - retracting their antennae into the scrobes, tucking their legs under the spiky shieldback, letting sand and dust cover their hairy bodies, and remaining motionless.
Silvalite Reserve, Wagga Wagga, NSW
2 notes
·
View notes
Two Cape Coral Police K9 Teams Compete in U.S. Canine Biathlon
Two of Cape Coral Police Department’s K9s competed in the 6th Annual U.S. Canine Biathlon Competition held at VWK9’s world-class 320-acre canine training facility in Anniston, Alabama. This event drew 1,200 competitors from around the country and as far away as Ireland. Specifically 40 law enforcement K9 teams competed in a grueling 4 mile course with over 40 obstacles through treacherous terrain.
On Saturday, May 18th Officer Stephen Scrobe, along with his K9 partner Carbon and Officer Jason Matyas, along with his K9 partner Suka, participated in the U.S. Canine Biathlon. They trained for months to prepare themselves and the canines. Officer Scrobe and K9 Carbon finished in 1st in the Police Division with a time of 43 minutes. Officer Matyas and K9 Suka finished 6th with a time of 60 minutes.
“It was our honor to run the 4+ mile, 40+ obstacle course through the Alabama mountains in memory of FHP Trooper Lt Dan Hinton, a K9 handler mentor of mine, who recently passed. A thank you is owed to The Cape Coral Police Department for allowing us to participate. Also, thank you to the FOP Lodge#33, PBA, Jon Hunt, and Pat and Brian McHugh for your assistance. Our K9 partners pushed and carried us as much as we did them. This was truly a bonding experience that will make us better K9 teams as we continue to serve our community.” ~ Officer Jason Matyas
###
CAPE CORAL POLICE DEPARTMENT | Public Affairs Office | 1100 Cultural Park Boulevard | Cape Coral, FL 33990 | (239) 242-3341
1 note
·
View note
Rare Ants Rediscovered That Grow Fungus With Insect Poo
www.inhandnetworks.com
Ants invented agriculture long before humans, learning how to grow fungus on bits of leaves and other detritus, fungus which provided them with food. One of the more primitive fungus-farmers, known as Mycetophylax asper, was discovered in 1887, but has barely been seen since. Scientists weren’t even sure it was still around.
But researchers have re-discovered it in a park in Brazil known as the Chapecó National Forest in huge numbers, as described in a study published in PLOS ONE. After being tipped off by a colleague named Rogeria Silva, an entomologist at the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, the study authors traveled to the park to see for themselves. There, they collected 21 colonies of the creatures, some of which now live in the lab of Ted Schultz, a fungus-farming ant specialist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. (But don't worry: The researchers say they only collected a small number of the ants from one location, and there are still large numbers of the species left in the forest.)
The ant has a number of bizarre and unique features. For one, it grows fungus on bits of detritus and frass, a technical term for insect poop. Physically, it is covered in erect hairs, which is unique for its genus, the taxonomic group above species, says study first author Jeffrey Sosa-Calvo, a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University. It also has a distinctive groove in its head called a “scrobe” that allows it to fold its antennae back, and a pronounced protuberance on its thorax (the middle body part) known as a turbercle.
Tech & Science Emails and Alerts - Get the best of Newsweek Tech & Science delivered to your inbox
This good-looking creature is a fungus-farming ant by the name of Mycetophylax asper, which researchers recently re-discovered in a Brazilian forest. Don Parsons courtesy of Jeffrey Sosa-Calvo
Genetic analysis of the ant showed that it is one of the more primitive fungus-farmers, and further study of its relationship to the fungus it cultivates should help researchers better understand how these creatures evolved, Schultz says. The team’s work also showed that the ant had been placed in the wrong genus, and the team's analysis led them to completely re-categorize its place in the fungus-farming world. (It also led to it being renamed from Mycetosoritis asper to Mycetophylax asper.)
“The more we learn about how farming evolved in ants, I think it will have implications for [improving] human agriculture,” Schultz says. The ants are, after all, the original sustainable farmers, and they’ve been up to it for 60 million years, he says.
Tags: Industrial router, cellular router, 4g router, LTE router, 3g router, M2M router, wireless router, wireless m2m router, wireless m2m, Industrial Wireless M2M, Industrial Wireless M2M Router, Industrial Wireless M2M products, M2M wireless producdts, WiFi M2M Router, Industrial Wireless M2M gateway, industrial IoT router, industrial IoT gateway, industrial LTE router, Industrial router, cellular router, 4g router , LTE router,3g router , M2M router, wireless router, wireless m2m router, WiFi M2M Router, Industrial Wireless M2M Router, M2M IoT router, industrial wireless router, industrial M2M router, industrial LTE router, Industrial VPN router, Dual SIM M2M router, M2M gateway, IoT gateway, Industrial router, low-cost industrial router , low-cost cellular router, low-cost LTE router, low-cost M2M router, compact industrial router, low-cost cellular router , cellular router, low-cost 4g router , LTE router, 3g router , M2M router, wireless router, wireless m2m router, WiFi M2M Router, Industrial Wireless M2M Router, M2M IoT router, industrial wireless router,industrial M2M router, industrial LTE router, Industrial VPN router, Dual SIM M2M router, M2M gateway, IoT gateway, LTE Cat 1 router, Embedded LTE Cat 1 router, Industrial LTE Cat 1 router, Verizon Embedded modem,Verizon Embedded router, Overhead Line Monitoring, Distribution Power Line Monitoring, Grid Analytics System, overhead Line sensor, grid fault detection, distribution Line Monitoring, grid fault location, Smart Vending, touchscreen vending, cashless vending, cloud VMS, vending retrofit, smart vending solution, vending vms, cashless payment, vending route optimization, vending inventory management, vending retrofit, vending PC, vending computer, Android vending computer, vending computer, Android vending computer, Android industrial computer, branding, 品牌设计, 标志设计, 室内设计, 菜单制作, 包装设计, 商业摄影, 视频制作, 网站开发, logo,interior, menu, packaging, photography, video, interior design, graphic design, website, packaging design, 崀山, 崀山科技, 崀山科技全球服务中心, LangShan Technology Global Service Center, LangShan Technology,LangShan, china webdesign, seo, web design, 企业建站, SEO, joomla template, joomla webdesign, joomla web design, joomla seo, wordpress themes, wordpress webdesign, wordpress web design, wordpress seo, magento themes,magento webdesign, magento web design, magento seo, opencart themes, opencart webdesign, opencart web design, opencart seo, prestashop themes, prestashop webdesign, prestashop web design, prestashop seo, 崀山, 崀山科技, 崀山科技全球服务中心, LangShan Technology Global Service Center, LangShan Technology, LangShan, china webdesign, seo, web design, 企业建站, SEO, joomla template, joomla webdesign, joomla web design, joomla seo,wordpress themes, wordpress webdesign, wordpress web design, wordpress seo, magento themes, magento webdesign, magento web design, magento seo, opencart themes, opencart webdesign, opencart web design, opencart seo,prestashop themes, prestashop webdesign, prestashop web design, prestashop seo, inhand networks, inhandnetworks, InHand Networks - Global Leader in Industrial IoT, Global Leader in Industrial IoTn>, android-computer,iot, industrial-iot, industrial-internet-of-things, m2m, industrial-m2m,
0 notes
Florida Gulf Coast Police K-9 Competition Did Not Disappoint
The 3rd Annual Florida Gulf Coast Police K-9 Competition was held on January 4, 2019 at Island Coast High School. This year’s competition did not disappoint. There were 24 law enforcement K-9 teams that competed. There were two teams from Michigan competing this year. A civilian category was added to the competition. There were 7 civilian K-9 teams that participated.
There were three categories for Law Enforcement K-9’s:
Fastest K-9, Hardest Hitting K-9 and the obstacle course.
Law Enforcement Catagory: Fastest K-9
1st- Gordon Dickinson with Stitch from Coral Gables Police Department
2nd- Shane Watson with Nero from Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office
3rd- Robert Ricks with Abey from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office
Law Enforcement: Hardest Hitting K-9
1st- Justin Bumgarner with Nero from North Port Police Department
2nd- Sean Urban with Dutch from Washtenaw Sheriff’s Office, Michigan
3rd- Chad Walker with a second dog named Dutch from North Port Police Department
Law Enforcement: Obstacle Course:
1st- Ryan McBride with Nox from Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office
2nd- Gordon Dickinson with Stitch from the Coral Gables Police Department
3rd- Hunter Kearns with Rugar from the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office
***Officer Scrobe from the Cape Coral Police Department was the third place winner, but opted to let Hunter Kearns take his spot.
Law Enforcement Overall Champion
Gordon Dickinson with Stitch from the Coral Gables Police Department
Civilian Obstacle Course:
1st- Jason Steinke with Tala
2nd- Dakota Means with Brax
3rd- Ashley White with Maya
Even though it rained heavily for about an hour, this was an amazing event that was well attended. It was amazing seeing the Law Enforcement and Civilian K-9 Handlers and their partners competing. We would like to thank everyone who came to cheer on our Law Enforcement and Civilian K-9 Handlers and their partners.
We would like to thank the Vendors, Food Trucks, and our Sponsors.
###
CAPE CORAL POLICE DEPARTMENT | Public Affairs Office | 1100 Cultural Park Boulevard | Cape Coral, FL 33990 | (239) 242-3341
0 notes