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Servigne P, Orivel J, Azémar F, Carpenter J, Dejean A, Corbara B. An uneasy alliance: a nesting association between aggressive ants and equally fierce social wasps. INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 27:122-132. [PMID: 29659142 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Although the Neotropical territorially dominant arboreal ant Azteca chartifex Forel is very aggressive towards any intruder, its populous colonies tolerate the close presence of the fierce polistine wasp Polybia rejecta (F.). In French Guiana, 83.33% of the 48 P. rejecta nests recorded were found side by side with those of A. chartifex. This nesting association results in mutual protection from predators (i.e., the wasps protected from army ants; the ants protected from birds). We conducted field studies, laboratory-based behavioral experiments and chemical analyses to elucidate the mechanisms allowing the persistence of this association. Due to differences in the cuticular profiles of the two species, we eliminated the possibility of chemical mimicry. Also, analyses of the carton nests did not reveal traces of marking on the envelopes. Because ant forager flows were not perturbed by extracts from the wasps' Dufour's and venom glands, we rejected any hypothetical action of repulsive chemicals. Nevertheless, we noted that the wasps "scraped" the surface of the upper part of their nest envelope using their mandibles, likely removing the ants' scent trails, and an experiment showed that ant foragers were perturbed by the removal of their scent trails. This leads us to use the term "erasure hypothesis." Thus, this nesting association persists thanks to a relative tolerance by the ants towards wasp presence and the behavior of the wasps that allows them to "contain" their associated ants through the elimination of their scent trails, direct attacks, "wing-buzzing" behavior and ejecting the ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Servigne
- Ecologie Sociale, CP 231 Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Campus Plaine, Boulevard du Triomphe, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jérôme Orivel
- CNRS, UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
| | - Frédéric Azémar
- EcoLab, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - James Carpenter
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
| | - Alain Dejean
- CNRS, UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Kourou, France
- EcoLab, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
| | - Bruno Corbara
- CNRS, LMGE, Université Clermont Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Corbara B, Servigne P, Dejean A, Carpenter JM, Orivel J. A mimetic nesting association between a timid social wasp and an aggressive arboreal ant. C R Biol 2018; 341:182-188. [PMID: 29478843 DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2018.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2017] [Revised: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
In French Guiana, the arboreal nests of the swarm-founding social wasp Protopolybia emortualis (Polistinae) are generally found near those of the arboreal dolichoderine ant Dolichoderus bidens. These wasp nests are typically protected by an envelope, which in turn is covered by an additional carton 'shelter' with structure resembling the D. bidens nests. A few wasps constantly guard their nest to keep D. bidens workers from approaching. When alarmed by a strong disturbance, the ants invade the host tree foliage whereas the wasps retreat into their nest. Notably, there is no chemical convergence in the cuticular profiles of the wasps and ants sharing a tree. The aggressiveness of D. bidens likely protects the wasps from army ant raids, but the ants do not benefit from the presence of the wasps; therefore, this relationship corresponds to a kind of commensalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno Corbara
- Université Clermont-Auvergne, CNRS, LMGE, 34, avenue Carnot, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
| | | | - Alain Dejean
- Ecolab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, 31062 Toulouse, France; CNRS, UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310 Kourou, France.
| | - James M Carpenter
- Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY, 10024, USA.
| | - Jérôme Orivel
- CNRS, UMR EcoFoG, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, 97310 Kourou, France.
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Arthropods Associate with their Red Wood ant Host without Matching Nestmate Recognition Cues. J Chem Ecol 2017; 43:644-661. [PMID: 28744733 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-017-0868-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Revised: 06/28/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Social insect colonies provide a valuable resource that attracts and offers shelter to a large community of arthropods. Previous research has suggested that many specialist parasites of social insects chemically mimic their host in order to evade aggression. In the present study, we carry out a systematic study to test how common such chemical deception is across a group of 22 arthropods that are associated with red wood ants (Formica rufa group). In contrast to the examples of chemical mimicry documented in some highly specialized parasites in previous studies, we find that most of the rather unspecialized red wood ant associates surveyed did not use mimicry of the cuticular hydrocarbon recognition cues to evade host detection. Instead, we found that myrmecophiles with lower cuticular hydrocarbon concentrations provoked less host aggression. Therefore, some myrmecophiles with low hydrocarbon concentrations appear to evade host detection via a strategy known as chemical insignificance. Others showed no chemical disguise at all and, instead, relied on behavioral adaptations such as particular defense or evasion tactics, in order to evade host aggression. Overall, this study indicates that unspecialized myrmecophiles do not require the matching of host recognition cues and advanced strategies of chemical mimicry, but can integrate in a hostile ant nest via either chemical insignificance or specific behavioral adaptations.
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Roux O, Vantaux A, Petitclerc F, Orivel J, Dejean A, Billen J. Structural adaptations and mechanism of reflex bleeding in the larvae of the myrmecophilous ladybird Diomus thoracicus. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2017; 46:529-536. [PMID: 28669670 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2017.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 06/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Reflex bleeding is an effective defensive mechanism against predators. When attacked, some insects emit hemolymph, which coagulates, quickly entangling their aggressor. Bleeding occurs at weak intersegmental membranes or through dedicated organs, which can be associated or not with glandular cells. Here, we describe the behavior and morphological structures involved in reflex bleeding in the larvae of the ladybird, Diomus thoracicus, which are intranidal parasites of the ant Wasmannia auropunctata. The larvae are tolerated by the ants thanks to odor mimicry, but some rare aggressive ant behaviors were observed that trigger reflex bleeding both at a pair of thoracic tubercles and a pair of posterodorsal abdominal humps. No glandular structure was found in association with these emission points, which suggests that the material emitted was hemolymph only. A 3D reconstruction suggested that reflex bleeding seems to be controlled by muscles whose contraction increases the internal hydrostatic pressure and pushes the hemolymph into a funnel-like structure with an opening to the outside. In D. thoracicus, the morphological structures involved in reflex bleeding are among the most complex and prominent described to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivier Roux
- MIVEGEC, IRD, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France; IRSS, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso; CNRS, UMR Écologie des Forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France.
| | - Amélie Vantaux
- Malaria Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Pasteur Institute in Cambodia, 5 Monivong Boulevard, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
| | - Frédéric Petitclerc
- CNRS, UMR Écologie des Forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France
| | - Jérôme Orivel
- CNRS, UMR Écologie des Forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France
| | - Alain Dejean
- CNRS, UMR Écologie des Forêts de Guyane, AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France; Ecolab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France
| | - Johan Billen
- KU Leuven, Zoological Institute, Naamsestraat 59, box 2466, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
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Perfecto I, Vandermeer J, Philpott SM. Complex Ecological Interactions in the Coffee Agroecosystem. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS 2014. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivette Perfecto
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109;
| | - John Vandermeer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109;
| | - Stacy M. Philpott
- Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064;
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Tavares C, Jactel H, van Halder I, Mendel Z, Branco M. A case of ecological specialization in ladybirds: Iberorhyzobius rondensis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), potential biocontrol agent of Matsucoccus feytaudi (Hemiptera: Matsucoccidae). BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2014; 104:367-375. [PMID: 24666751 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485314000182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Specialization is an important attribute of a biological control agent. The maritime pine bast scale, Matsucoccus feytaudi Ducasse (Hemiptera Matsucoccidae), is an invasive species in Southeast France and the North of Italy. Iberorhyzobius rondensis Eizaguirre (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), is a recently described ladybird species. Both adults and larvae are predaceous, feeding on egg masses of M. feytaudi, and are strongly attracted to M. feytaudi's sex pheromone. To evaluate the potential of I. rondensis as a biocontrol agent of the scale, we studied its niche breadth and prey range with emphasis on pine forests and hemipterans as tested prey. In this study, I. rondensis was found to achieve complete development only when fed on M. feytaudi egg masses (92.9% survival) and an artificial prey: eggs of Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (27.6% survival). From the 2nd instar onwards, complete development could be achieved using other prey species, although larvae had significantly higher mortality and slower development. In choice tests, M. feytaudi was the preferred prey. Surveys of the ladybird populations in the Iberian Peninsula revealed that it was found exclusively on Pinus pinaster Aiton, the sole host of M. feytaudi. The unusual specialization of I. rondensis, among other predaceous ladybirds, makes it an appropriate candidate for classical biological control of M. feytaudi.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Tavares
- Centro de Estudos Florestais (CEF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon (ISA-UL), Tapada da Ajuda 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - H Jactel
- INRA, UMR1202, BIOGECO, F-33610 Cestas, France
| | | | - Z Mendel
- Department of Entomology, Agricultural Research Organization, 50250 Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - M Branco
- Centro de Estudos Florestais (CEF), Instituto Superior de Agronomia, University of Lisbon (ISA-UL), Tapada da Ajuda 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
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Seago AE, Giorgi JA, Li J, Ślipiński A. Phylogeny, classification and evolution of ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) based on simultaneous analysis of molecular and morphological data. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2011; 60:137-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2010] [Revised: 02/24/2011] [Accepted: 03/12/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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