Two new species of Myrmedonota Cameron (Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Mexico

Santiago-Jiménez, Quiyari J.

doi:10.3897/zookeys.464.8549

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Swift movements and possibly the use of defensive chemicals, as indicated by a bent abdomen directed at ant workers during aggressive encounters (see also [ 74 ]), supposedly saved this ecitophile from being captured and killed. Generalized myrmecophilous staphylinids such as Proxenobius [ 42 ] and species of the genera Tetradonia [ 109 ] and Myrmedonota [ 110 ] usually possess exocrine abdominal glands (e.g., the 'tergal gland' [ 14 ]), which contain defensive irritants to repulse or baffle ants during aggressive encounters [ 14 , 19 , 41 , 111 – 113 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Ant colonies are plagued by a diversity of arthropod guests, which adopt various strategies to avoid or to withstand host attacks. Chemical mimicry of host recognition cues is, for example, a common integration strategy of ant guests. The morphological gestalt and body size of ant guests have long been argued to also affect host hostility, but quantitative studies testing these predictions are largely missing. We here evaluated three guest traits as triggers of host aggression—body size, morphological gestalt, and accuracy in chemical mimicry—in a community of six Eciton army ant species and 29 guest species. We quantified ant aggression towards 314 guests in behavioral assays and, for the same individuals, determined their body size and their accuracy in mimicking ant cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles. We classified guests into the following gestalts: protective, myrmecoid, staphylinid-like, phorid-like, and larval-shaped. We expected that (1) guests with lower CHC mimicry accuracy are more frequently attacked; (2) larger guests are more frequently attacked; (3) guests of different morphological gestalt receive differing host aggression levels. Results Army ant species had distinct CHC profiles and accuracy of mimicking these profiles was variable among guests, with many species showing high mimicry accuracy. Unexpectedly, we did not find a clear relationship between chemical host similarity and host aggression, suggesting that other symbiont traits need to be considered. We detected a relationship between the guests’ body size and the received host aggression, in that diminutive forms were rarely attacked. Our data also indicated that morphological gestalt might be a valuable predictor of host aggression. While most ant-guest encounters remained peaceful, host behavior still differed towards guests in that ant aggression was primarily directed towards those guests possessing a protective or a staphylinid-like gestalt. Conclusion We demonstrate that CHC mimicry accuracy does not necessarily predict host aggression towards ant symbionts. Exploitation mechanisms are diverse, and we conclude that, besides chemical mimicry, other factors such as the guests’ morphological gestalt and especially their body size might be important, yet underrated traits shaping the level of host hostility against social insect symbionts.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

First Record of Myrmedonota Cameron (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) in Brazil

Navarro

Caron

2018

The Coleopterists Bulletin

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Two new species of Myrmedonota Cameron (Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae) from Mexico

Abstract: Two new species of Myrmedonota are described from Mexico. Illustrations and a distribution map are provided, as are keys to identify Myrmedonota known from the Nearctic and Neotropics. Specimens were collected by means of mercury vapor light traps or flight interception traps.

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy

Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy

First Record of Myrmedonota Cameron (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae) in Brazil

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About