Winter Ants

摘要

If you find these tiny visitors, enjoy the rarity of their visit. There is much attention given these days to various maladies affecting honey bees and the subsequent economic impacts on the bee industry. These include colony collapse disorder, Varroaand tracheal mites, American and European foulbrood, small hive beetles, Africanized bees, nosema, and the list goes on. There are some insect species that have associations with the honey bee colony that appear to be more of a curiosity than having anysignificant impact on health of the colony or economic impact on the industry. There is an estimate that only 3.0 to 3.5% of nearly one million known species of insects are considered pests of economic importance. Furthermore, about 7% are considered beneficial. Therefore, approximately 90% of the known million species are considered neither pests nor beneficial. The diversity of life forms in the insect world can fill us with a sense of fascination, awe and, yes, even enjoyment. I would, therefore, classify the Winter honey ant, Prenolepis imparts (SayJ, as a member of the 90% group. It is a member of the Order Hymenoptera, as are honey bees. These two insect species, however, belong to different families within the Order; namely, Formicidae (the ant) and Apidae (the honey bee).