The largest animal association centered on one species: the army ant Eciton burchellii and its more than 300 associates

Rettenmeyer, Carl W.; Rettenmeyer, M. E.; Joseph, Jobin; Berghoff, Stefanie M.

doi:10.1007/s00040-010-0128-8

Cited by 108 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…To our knowledge, ours is one of the few studies that document the role of ant-associated beetles outside of a pairwise context [2,[42][43][44][45][46], and the first study to demonstrate a predator sharing host/prey cues with a parasitoid to gain access to a prey item that would otherwise be unavailable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dead ant walking: a myrmecophilous beetle predator uses parasitoid host location cues to selectively prey on parasitized ants

Mathis¹,

Tsutsui²

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Myrmecophiles (i.e. organisms that associate with ants) use a variety of ecological niches and employ different strategies to survive encounters with ants. Because ants are typically excellent defenders, myrmecophiles may choose moments of weakness to take advantage of their ant associates. This hypothesis was studied in the rove beetle, Myrmedonota xipe, which associates with Azteca sericeasur ants in the presence of parasitoid flies. A combination of laboratory and field experiments show that M. xipe beetles selectively locate and prey upon parasitized ants. These parasitized ants are less aggressive towards beetles than healthy ants, allowing beetles to eat the parasitized ants alive without interruption. Moreover, behavioural assays and chemical analysis reveal that M. xipe are attracted to the ant's alarm pheromone, the same secretion used by the phorid fly parasitoids in host location. This strategy allows beetles access to an abundant but otherwise inaccessible resource, as A. sericeasur ants are typically highly aggressive. These results are the first, to our knowledge, to demonstrate a predator sharing cues with a parasitoid to gain access to an otherwise unavailable prey item. Furthermore, this work highlights the importance of studying ant -myrmecophile interactions beyond just their pairwise context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Dead ant walking: a myrmecophilous beetle predator uses parasitoid host location cues to selectively prey on parasitized ants

Mathis¹,

Tsutsui²

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…Army ants ( Eciton spp.) have especially diverse arrays of mite associates, with members of 55 mite families having been identifi ed with the nests and bodies of only a single army ant species, Eciton burchellii (Rettenmeyer et al 2011 ) (but note that even in temperate zones, an ant species may host > 30 spp. of mites, Campbell et al 2012 ).…”

Section: Commensalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animals as Habitats

Walter

Proctor

2013

Mites: Ecology, Evolution &Amp; Behaviour

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To most non-biologists, a 'mite' is an almost invisible creature that lives in the carpet and gives you asthma or that burrows in your skin to produce socially unacceptable scabies. Cat owners may curse the ear mites that infest their pets and those who know that ticks are mites may mention Lyme Disease. Such medically important associations between mites and mammals are discussed in most parasitology texts, and mites associated with human diseases are discussed in our Chap. 10 ; therefore, in this chapter we cover ticks and other human-and livestock-associated mites superfi cially, concentrating instead on lesser known relationships between mites and the animals they use for room and board. These associations are not always negative; in fact, many seemingly parasitic mites have no impact on their hosts or may even be benefi cial (see section " Mutualism ", below).One of the recurring themes of this book is that mites live in the most astonishing places. This is particularly apparent among animal-associated acarines. A complete list of associations between mites and other animals would occupy an entire book but to whet the reader's appetite we have provided Table 9.1 , where we list the associations that acarologists use to shock jaded students or to start conversations at dull parties. After perusing this list many will be compelled to exclaim, 'What's a mite doing there?' or 'How did a mite get there?'. The fi rst question is a proximate one -what is the ecology of the symbiotic mite? -and the second an ultimate one -what evolutionary history and selective pressures have resulted in this association? In the fi rst section of this chapter we discuss the ecological terminology dealing with symbiosis and then outline some major hypotheses about how different symbioses may evolve. The next two sections discuss the life histories and behaviour of mites associated with invertebrates and vertebrates respectively and the fourth section surveys the diverse effects that parasitic mites have on their hosts. Finally, the last section addresses the topic of coevolution between hosts and symbionts from an acarine point of view.

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“…The largest known association is the army ant Eciton burchellii with more than 300 guest species [4]. Interactions with ants range from true predators, commensals that live on ant food remains, mutualists, and parasites [3,5,6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Integration of Myrmecophilous Guests inAphaenogasterAnt Nests

Lenoir

Chalon

Carvajal

et al. 2012

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

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Social insect nests provide a safe and favourable shelter to many guests and parasites. In Aphaenogaster senilis nests many guests are tolerated. Among them we studied the chemical integration of two myrmecophile beetles, Sternocoelis hispanus (Coleoptera: Histeridae) and Chitosa nigrita (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), and a silverfish. Silverfishes bear low quantities of the host hydrocarbons (chemical insignificance), acquired probably passively, and they do not match the colony odour. Both beetle species use chemical mimicry to be accepted; they have the same specific cuticular hydrocarbon profile as their host. They also match the ant colony odour, but they keep some specificity and can be recognised by the ants as a different element. Sternocoelis are always adopted in other conspecific colonies of A. senilis with different delays. They are adopted in the twin species A. iberica but never in A. simonellii or A. subterranea. They are readopted easily into their mother colony after an isolation of different durations until one month. After isolation they keep their hydrocarbons quantity, showing that they are able to synthesize them. Nevertheless, their profile diverges from the host colony, indicating that they adjust it in contact with the hosts. This had never been demonstrated before in myrmecophile beetles. We suggest that the chemical mimicry of Sternocoelis is the result of a coevolution with A. senilis with a possible cleaning symbiosis.

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The largest animal association centered on one species: the army ant Eciton burchellii and its more than 300 associates

Cited by 108 publications

References 28 publications

Dead ant walking: a myrmecophilous beetle predator uses parasitoid host location cues to selectively prey on parasitized ants

Dead ant walking: a myrmecophilous beetle predator uses parasitoid host location cues to selectively prey on parasitized ants

Animals as Habitats

Chemical Integration of Myrmecophilous Guests inAphaenogasterAnt Nests

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