Magnetic material diversity in Brazilian ants: displacement behaviour and environmental adaptability.

How geomagnetic field information is collected and processed by insects for orientation and navigation remains elusive. In social insects, magnetic particles are well accepted as magnetic sensors. Ants have the ability to home and hunt, and some migratory and nomadic species can migrate or move over long distances for which magnetoreception is an important mechanism.

Ferritin from the haemolymph of adult ants: an extraction method for characterization and a ferromagnetic study.

Ferritin has been studied in many animals, plants and bacteria. The main functions of ferritin in mammals are iron concentration and stabilization, protection against oxidants and iron storage for later developmental or iron-dependent activities. Although insect ferritin plays a key role in iron transport, only a few studies to date have examined its properties and function.

Titanium and iron titanium oxide nanoparticles in antennae of the migratory ant Pachycondyla marginata: an alternative magnetic sensor for magnetoreception?

The most accepted hypothesis of magnetoreception for social insects is the ferromagnetic hypothesis which assumes the presence of magnetic material as a sensor coupled to sensitive structures that transmit the geomagnetic field information to the nervous system. As magnetite is the most common magnetic material observed in living beings, it has been suggested as basic constituent of the magnetoreception system. Antennae and head have been pointed as possible magnetosensor organs in social insects as ants, bees and termites.

Ferromagnetic resonance of intact cells and isolated crystals from cultured and uncultured magnetite-producing magnetotactic bacteria.

Most magnetotactic bacteria (MB) produce stable, single-domain magnetite nanocrystals with species-specific size, shape and chain arrangement. In addition, most crystals are elongated along the [111] direction, which is the easy axis of magnetization in magnetite, chemically pure and structurally perfect. These special characteristics allow magnetite crystal chains from MB to be recognized in environmental samples including old sedimentary rocks.

Magnetoreception in eusocial insects: an update.

Behavioural experiments for magnetoreception in eusocial insects in the last decade are reviewed. Ants and bees use the geomagnetic field to orient and navigate in areas around their nests and along migratory paths. Bees show sensitivity to small changes in magnetic fields in conditioning experiments and when exiting the hive.

Solenopsis ant magnetic material: statistical and seasonal studies.

In this paper, we quantify the magnetic material amount in Solenopsis ants using ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) at room temperature. We sampled S. interrupta workers from several morphologically indistinguishable castes.

Magnetic properties of the microorganism Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis.

Magnetotactic microorganisms use the interaction of internal biomineralized nanoparticles with the geomagnetic field to orientate. The movement of the magnetotactic multicellular prokaryote Candidatus Magnetoglobus multicellularis under an applied magnetic field was observed. A method using digital image processing techniques was used to track the organism trajectory to simultaneously obtain its body radius, velocity, U-turn diameter, and the reorientation time.

Do geomagnetic storms change the behaviour of the stingless bee guiruçu (Schwarziana quadripunctata)?

Six behavioural experiments were carried out to investigate the magnetic field effects on the nest-exiting flight directions of the honeybee Schwarziana quadripunctata (Meliponini). No significant differences resulted during six experiment days under varying geomagnetic field and the applied static inhomogeneous field (about ten times the geomagnetic field) conditions. A surprising statistically significant response was obtained on a unique magnetic storm day.