endemic to Australia. A member of the genus Camponotus in the subfamily
Formicinae, it was described by German entomologist Wilhelm Ferdinand
Erichson in 1842. Its common name refers to the ant's preference for
sweet food, as well as the distinctive orange-brown band around its
gaster. The ant is polymorphic and relatively large, with castes called
major workers (soldiers) and minor workers. Ants in these groups measure
around 5 to 15 millimetres (0.20 to 0.59 inches) in length. Mainly
nocturnal, banded sugar ants prefer a mesic habitat, and are commonly
found in forests and woodlands; they are also found in urban areas,
where they are considered a household pest. The ant's diet includes
sweet secretions they obtain from aphids and other insects. Workers prey
on some insects, killing them with a spray of formic acid. Banded sugar
ants are prey for other ants, echidnas, and birds. The eggs of this
species were consumed by Australian Aborigines.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banded_sugar_ant>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
936:
Shi Jingtang was enthroned as the first emperor of the Later Jin
by Emperor Taizong of Liao, following a revolt against Emperor Fei of
Later Tang.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi_Jingtang>
1660:
At London's Gresham College, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins,
Christopher Wren and other leading scientists founded a learned society
now known as the Royal Society.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society>
1905:
Irish nationalist Arthur Griffith first presented his Sinn
Féin policy, declaring that the 1800 Act of Union of Great Britain and
Ireland was illegal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in>
1925:
The country music radio program Grand Ole Opry was first
broadcast on WSM radio in Nashville, Tennessee.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Ole_Opry>
1990:
After being elected as leader of the British Conservative Party
one day earlier, John Major officially succeeded Margaret Thatcher as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Major>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
coterie:
1. A circle of people who associate with one another.
2. An exclusive group of people, who associate closely for a common
purpose; a clique.
3. A communal burrow of prairie dogs.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coterie>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that
stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness
that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all
delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but
remain true to them, your world will at last be built.
--James Allen
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Allen>
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