Assembly of<i>Myrmelachista</i>Roger (Formicidae: Formicinae) in twigs fallen on the leaf litter of Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Nakano, Márcia Akemi; Feitosa, Rodrigo M.; Moraes, C.O.; Adriano, Lourdes; Hengles, E.P.; Longui, Eduardo Luiz; Morini, Maria Santina de Castro

doi:10.1080/00222933.2012.707247

Cited by 17 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…According to these authors, these twigs with nests possibly came from trees that have fallen due to winds and storms. However, Lanan et al (2011) observed the genus Myrmelachista forming polidomic nests, and as suggested by Nakano et al (2012), nests in cavities in fallen twigs leaf litter can serve as nests satellites favoring the expansion of the colony.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They are a species of small-bodied ants native to the neotropics, specialized in foraging and nesting exclusively in vegetation (Silvestre et al 2003;Longino 2006). Nakano et al (2012) reported the occurrence of nests of this species in fallen twigs in the leaf litter. According to these authors, these twigs with nests possibly came from trees that have fallen due to winds and storms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Senescent stem-galls in trees of Eremanthus erythropappus as a resource for arboreal ants

Almeida¹,

Santos²,

Carneiro³

2014

Rev. Bras. entomol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Senescent stem-galls in trees of Eremanthus erythropappus as a resource for arboreal ants

Almeida¹,

Santos²,

Carneiro³

2014

Rev. Bras. entomol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…M. catharinae and Myrmelachista sp.7 queens exhibit morphological differences (Nakano, 2010), and our molecular analysis results confirm the interspecies differences between these queens. Longino (2006) reported that analyses of reproductive ants can facilitate the identification of Myrmelachista species; however, these types of ants have rarely been examined, and literature data regarding the reproductive biology of Myrmelachista species remain scarce (Nakano et al, 2012(Nakano et al, , 2013. Two different M. catharinae groups are readily identifiable in the dendogram (Fig 3) of this study, and M. arthuri is more closely related to one of these M. catharinae groups than to the other M. catharinae group.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A total of 256 nests were collected; these nests were located either in the forest vegetation or among scattered twigs in the leaf litter (for details about biological material collecting see Nakano et al, 2012Nakano et al, , 2013. The nests housed eight Myrmelachista species: M. arthuri Forel, 1903;M.…”

Section: Samples For Molecular Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The genetic characterization of Myrmelachista spp. Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) specimens collected in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil

Nakano¹,

Miranda²,

Feistosa³

et al. 2014

Sociobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Arboreal ants of the genus Myrmelachista, which have ecologically important relationships with different vegetable species, are found exclusively in the Neotropical region. These ant species are difficult to identify, and their taxonomy remains controversial; moreover, little is known regarding their biology. The objective of the present work is to assess the genetic similarities and dissimilarities between and within Myrmelachista species, with the goal of expanding knowledge of the relationships among the taxa of this genus. Sample collection in selected regions of the dense ombrophile forest of southeastern Brazil yielded 256 nests, which were found in vegetation or among scattered twigs in the leaf litter; eight species were recorded. A total of 180 specimens were analyzed, producing 123 molecular characters. Data analyses revealed similarity relationships that allowed the examined species to be classified into the following groups: (1) Myrmelachista sp. 4, M. nodigera, M. ruszkii and M. gallicola; (2) M. catharinae and M. arthuri; (3) M. reticulata; and (4) Myrmelachista sp. 7. The study results also revealed the existence of two morphological variants of M. catharinae; M. arthuri was more closely related to one of these M. catharinae variants than to the other variant. The present work provides important information regarding genetic variation among Myrmelachista species that may contribute to interpreting the complex morphology of this genus.

show abstract

“…Myrmelachista colonies are usually big, polydomous and/or polygynous and occupy dead branches or live tree stems (Frederickson, 2005;Longino, 2006;Frederickson & Gordon, 2009;Nakano et al, 2012;Nakano et al, 2013), making it difficult to study the biology of the species. In this work, we describe how M. arthuri foraging patterns and diet vary between different seasons of the year, in addition to reporting other aspects of its natural history.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Patterns of the Foraging Ecology of Myrmelachista arthuri Forel, 1903 (Formicidae: Formicinae)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Temporal dynamics of foraging activity, diet and habitat are key to understanding the bioecology of ants. These patterns are poorly studied in many Neotropical species, such as those belonging to genus Myrmelachista. In the present work, we investigate the foraging behavior and diet of M. arthuri and describe aspects of their food-searching behavior. We recorded the dynamics of workers exiting and entering nests built in the stems of native Atlantic forest trees during the cold/dry and warm/wet seasons. Food items carried by workers were also counted and identified. Myrmelachista arthuri foraged throughout the day, but worker activity became more intense as temperature increased and moisture declined, regardless of the season, and especially in the afternoon. This species had a generalist diet: 92% of the food items were live or dead arthropods or their remains, and a small proportion consisted of plant materials, such as seeds. Arthropod fragments, mostly of M. arthuri workers, represented the largest proportion of the diet, followed by whole Collembola individuals. Food items did not vary between seasons, the number of items was higher in the cold/dry season. The results of this work contribute to the understanding of M. arthuri biology, especially related to foraging dynamics.

show abstract

Assembly ofMyrmelachistaRoger (Formicidae: Formicinae) in twigs fallen on the leaf litter of Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Cited by 17 publications

References 42 publications

Senescent stem-galls in trees of Eremanthus erythropappus as a resource for arboreal ants

Senescent stem-galls in trees of Eremanthus erythropappus as a resource for arboreal ants

The genetic characterization of Myrmelachista spp. Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) specimens collected in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil

Seasonal Patterns of the Foraging Ecology of Myrmelachista arthuri Forel, 1903 (Formicidae: Formicinae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About