Initial behavior in colony fragments of an introduced population of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata

Massé, Paul Serge Mbenoun; Kenné, Martin; Mony, Ruth; Déjean, Alain; Tindo, Maurice

doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2011.04.002

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Few studies mention this behaviour for ants, and even fewer examine it. Some ants feign death to survive attacks by aggressive conspecifics (Cassill et al 2008) or during initial contact with conspecifics (Mbenoun Masse et al 2011). They also feign death in defence against other species, particularly for slow foragers (Wilson and Brown 1984;Diniz and Brandão 1993;Dornhaus and Powell 2010), when nests are disturbed (Brandão et al 1991;Rakotonirina and Fisher 2013), as specialist predators of spider eggs (Katayama 2013), and submissively to other species (Schumacher and Whitford 1974;Cardoso et al 2016), including invasive ants (Peters 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Polyrhachis femorata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) habitat and colony defensive immobility strategy

Petit

Hammond²,

Heterick

et al. 2023

Aust. J. Zool.

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Many animal species ‘play dead’ or feign death (in some cases called tonic immobility) as a defence strategy against predators, including some ants, although triggers and durations are poorly understood. We repeatedly observed such death-feigning behaviour in Polyrhachis femorata ants that occupied pygmy-possum nest boxes deployed on Kangaroo Island following the 2019–2020 bushfires that burnt half of the island. Most of the 759 bat and pygmy-possum boxes (901 cavities) were on burnt ground. In 3312 box cavity checks on 13 diverse properties during monitoring visits, 28 of 40 P. femorata records (first for South Australia) occurred in unburnt Critically Endangered Narrow-Leaf Mallee Woodland community, seven in adjacent mallee community containing narrow-leaf mallee, three in cup gum unburnt habitat, and two in one box on burnt ground. Fire may have affected the abundance and re-establishment of the species. Polyrhachis femorata engages in a surprising defensive immobility strategy in boxes, since it is not only undertaken by individuals facing a potential predator, but also by entire colonies. The death-feigning behaviours were complemented by plugging box entrances. Nest boxes may be used to study this mysterious behaviour in this poorly known species, although frequent observation could lead to nest abandonment by the ant.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some ants feign death to survive attacks by aggressive conspecifics (Cassill et al . 2008) or during initial contact with conspecifics (Mbenoun Masse et al . 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyrhachis femorata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) habitat and colony defensive immobility strategy

Petit

Hammond²,

Heterick

et al. 2023

Aust. J. Zool.

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Anthropization drives in-door establishment, dispersal and food borne pathogens’ carrying capacity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Akinwande,

Atunwa,

Adewale

2024

Proc.Indian Natl. Sci. Acad.

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The Little Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): A Global Perspective

Montgomery

Vanderwoude

Lintermans

et al. 2022

Annals of the Entomological Society of America

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Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) is an invasive tramp ant species that has been transported globally since [at least] the early twentieth century. It is often claimed that despite the negative impacts associated with this species and its listing among the world’s worst invasive species, very little research attention has been paid to W. auropuntata. Although the need for future research exists, there is currently a considerable body of research from around the world and spanning back to the 1920’s on this species. Here we synthesize over 200 peer reviewed research manuscripts, book chapters, conference presentations, and media reports of new distributions spanning 1929–2022 culminating in a comprehensive literature review on W. auropunctata. This review covers all current knowledge on this species and is intended to serve as a quick reference for future research and provide the reference resources for those seeking more in-depth information on specific topics. Topics included in this review include taxonomic identification, current global distribution and pathways, life history, impacts, detection, and control. We discuss where consensus and ambiguity currently lie within the research community, identify contextual considerations for future researchers when interpreting data, and suggest where we believe more research or clarifications are needed.

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Initial behavior in colony fragments of an introduced population of the invasive ant Wasmannia auropunctata

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Polyrhachis femorata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) habitat and colony defensive immobility strategy

Polyrhachis femorata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) habitat and colony defensive immobility strategy

Anthropization drives in-door establishment, dispersal and food borne pathogens’ carrying capacity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The Little Fire Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): A Global Perspective

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