Circumvention of prey defense by a predator: ant lion vs. ant.

Abstract

The pit-dwelling ant lion Myrmeleon carolinus, although topically sensitive to formic acid, is able to prey on formic acid-spraying ants (Camponotus floridanus). It kills the ants without inducing them to spray, and it sucks out the ant's body contents without puncturing the acid sac. Ordinarily, when Camponotus is attacked it retaliates by simultaneously biting and spraying, but it usually refrains from spraying until it has secured a grip with the mandibles. When Myrmeleon pulls Camponotus into the sand at the bottom of the pit, the ant is seemingly unable to grasp the ant lion and it is killed without being induced to spray. When feeding on the ant, the ant lion sucks up the contents of the nutrient-laden crop. How the ant lion differentiates between crop and acid sac, managing to spare the latter while rupturing the former, remains unknown.

Natural history-driven, plant-mediated RNAi-based study reveals CYP6B46 ’s role in a nicotine-mediated antipredator herbivore defense

“…Antlions construct funnel-shaped pits in sandy soil adjacent to N. attenuata plants in the field plantation and are known for their ability to avoid toxin-containing tissues of their prey (29). Because nicotine is present throughout the body of M. sexta larvae, we hypothesized that antlions would reject larvae fed nicotinecontaining diets.…”

Culture-Independent Characterization of the Microbiota of the Ant LionMyrmeleon mobilis(Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae)

“…4). Although we identified clones belonging to both OTU 1 and OTU 2 from 40% of the ant lions sampled, because ant lions can live in mixed species populations (20,42), and larvae are difficult to type morphologically (J. D. Oswald, personal communication), it is possible that some sampled ant lion larvae were not M. mobilis and contain only one type of Wolbachia. Alternatively, only a small number of clones were sequenced from each ant lion and tissue sample (Table 1), and the possibility exists that additional sequencing would reveal that all ant lions containing Wolbachia belong to OTU 1 and OTU 2.…”

“…Further study will be necessary to determine whether the Wolbachia species associated with M. mobilis display differential tissue tropism throughout the life cycle of the insect or influence reproduction, and it will be interesting to determine whether Wolbachia associates with other ant lion species. Ant lions can be found in the environment as populations of mixed species (20,42), and Wolbachia may be involved in the generation and maintenance of reproductive isolation in these populations.…”

Defensive use of a fecal thatch by a beetle larva ( Hemisphaerota cyanea )

“…Similarly, grasshopper mice that feed on certain beetles with dischargeable defensive glands overpower these beetles by holding them in such fashion that their glandular discharges are misdirected into the soil (16). Ant lions, when feeding on formicine ants, kill these without risking exposure to the ants' defensive acidic secretion (17), and orb weaving spiders, when feeding on bombardier beetles, encase these in silk, thereby shielding themselves against the beetles' hot quinonoid discharges (18). A refined strategy is practiced by phengodid beetle larvae, which feed on millipedes.…”