Acoustic communication within ant societies and its mimicry by mutualistic and socially parasitic myrmecophiles

Schönrogge, Karsten; Casacci, Luca Pietro; Settele, Josef; Thomas, J. A.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.10.031

Cited by 29 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Worker attraction towards conspecific brood odors was then demonstrated in the army ants Neivamyrmex opacithorax and Eciton spp. (Watkins and Cole 1966;Schneirla 1971) and shortly after confirmed in Atta cephalotes (Robinson and Cherrett 1974), Myrmica rubra (Brian 1975a), and Solenopsis invicta (Glancey et al 1970, but see Walsh and Tschinkel 1974). These findings, together with the fact that ant workers are known to readily accept and rear conspecific non-nestmate brood (Table 2) inspired researchers to search for ant brood pheromones, i.e., chemical substances emitted by immature individuals that elicit a specific response in conspecific adults (Morel and Vander Meer 1988;Vander Meer and Alonso 1998).…”

Section: Formica Fuscamentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood recognition and discrimination in ants

Schultner

Pulliainen

2020

Insect. Soc.

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In social insect colonies, individuals need to communicate to coordinate cooperative tasks and protect the colony and its resources against intruders. To maintain colony integrity, it can be particularly important to recognize nestmates and discriminate against non-nestmate conspecifics and heterospecific predators and parasites. As typical intruders are either con-or heterospecific adults, the mechanisms underlying recognition and discrimination processes in interactions among adults have been well described. Ant brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) can also play a key role in social interactions, and brood is of special importance when it comes to the priorities of worker ants. However, whether ants can, or even need to, recognize brood of different origins, is not always clear. In this review, we integrate the results of 100 years of study on brood recognition and discrimination in ants into a general framework. We begin with an overview of the proximate mechanisms involved in brood recognition and discrimination. We then discuss why brood recognition and discrimination should evolve and review the evidence for brood recognition on three organizational levels: within nests, between conspecifics and between species. We conclude by examining the constraints acting on accurate recognition and/or discrimination. With this review, we hope to inspire future research on the fascinating life of ant brood.

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Section: Formica Fuscamentioning

confidence: 99%

Brood recognition and discrimination in ants

Schultner

Pulliainen

2020

Insect. Soc.

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“…In ants, vibroacoustic communication is currently known to play important roles in colony life, such as in defense and signaling of alarm, territory, mating, rescue, recruitment, and social or caste status (Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990;Hickling and Brown, 2000;Casacci et al, 2013;Schönrogge et al, 2017) and may have evolved independently several times (Golden and Hill, 2016).…”

Section: Vibroacoustic Signalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For ants, the simplest way for producing vibrations is the substrate tapping with part of the exoskeleton (i.e., "drumming"). However, specialized stridulatory organs ( Figure 2F) occur in five subfamilies: Ponerinae, Pseudomyrmecinae, Myrmicinae, Ectomminae, and Nothomyrmecinae (Hunt and Richard, 2013;Golden and Hill, 2016;Schönrogge et al, 2017). The signal (stridulation) is produced by rubbing two body parts together, a scraper (plectrum) on a series of ridges (pars stridens) (Hunt and Richard, 2013;Golden and Hill, 2016).…”

Section: Vibroacoustic Signalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A similar mechanism involving slightly different stridulatory organs (Figure 2E) produces calls in butterfly pupae (Alvarez et al, 2014;Dolle et al, 2018), while the modalities of larval sounds emissions are more diversified and not yet fully unraveled (Figure 2D) (except for some riodinids which possess specialized structures called vibratory papillae (DeVries, 1991b;Schönrogge et al, 2017).…”

Section: Vibroacoustic Signalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…By means of food secretion or furtiveness, the majority of myrmecophiles (commensals or mutualists) live undisturbed or actively protected within the territories of ants, but others are specialized to overcome the colony defenses and succeed in entering the ant nests (Hölldobler and Wilson, 1990;Thomas et al, 2005). Some myrmecophiles are obligately associated with ants and have evolved remarkable strategies "to break the communication code" of their symbionts (Hinton, 1951;Schönrogge et al, 2017). Being able to exploit the fiercely defended ant territory or the nest itself by "cheating" ants would provide the myrmecophilous organisms with several advantages [e.g., protection against predator and parasites, shelter, transport, and a potential depletion of pathogen contamination (New, 2017)] as well as a persistent source of food and protection (Wasmann, 1913;Barbero, 2016).…”

Section: Introduction and Outlinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Multimodal Signaling in Myrmecophilous Butterflies

2019

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Ant nests and their surrounding territories represent a hoard of trophic resources, as well as of stable and protected environments for many arthropods involved in commensal, mutualistic, or parasitic associations. Among these organisms, called myrmecophiles, several are butterflies. Here, we explore the amazing diversity of strategies developed by myrmecophilous butterflies to "cheat" or manipulate ants and to elude the tough defenses of the colony. During oviposition, female butterflies use visual or plant volatile signals to identify the presence of ants, whereas chemical and vibroacoustic cues, either isolated or combined, are used by larvae and pupae to attract, deceive, or appease workers. Examples of mimicry and eavesdropping on both intraspecific and interspecific signals are discussed, primarily referring to the obligate-parasitic interactions involving Maculinea butterflies and Myrmica ants. Multimodal communication is crucial to maintaining the strong cohesion and social structure of ant societies, but its corruption is at the base of the evolution and persistence of interspecific associations, which can be beneficial or detrimental for the colony's fitness. In this framework, the remarkable complexity of signaling could have prompted the evolution of specialized life cycles enhancing the extraordinary butterfly diversity.

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The Natural History of Caterpillar-Ant Associations

Pierce

Dankowicz

2022

Fascinating Life Sciences

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The caterpillars of many Lepidoptera are neither attacked nor tended by ants but nevertheless appear to be obligately ant-associated and benefit from the enemy-free space created by ants. Obligate myrmecophiles that do not attract ants through stridulatory or chemical signaling are limited to habitats where ants are reliably present for other reasons, either among ant-attended hemipterans, on ant-plants, or around ant nests. Particularly in the tropics, obligate ant associates that passively coexist with ants are more diverse than previously recognized, including, for example, hundreds of African species in the lycaenid subfamily Poritiinae. Mutualists and parasites of ants have been reported in eleven families: Tineidae, Tortricidae, Cyclotornidae, Coleophoridae, Crambidae, Erebidae, Notodontidae, Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, and Riodinidae. Altogether, myrmecophily has originated at least 30 times in Lepidoptera, and many groups may remain undiscovered. The butterfly families Lycaenidae and Riodinidae contain the vast majority of ant-associated species: larvae of at least 3841 (71%) of the ~5390 described Lycaenidae and 308 (20%) of the ~1562 described Riodinidae are known or inferred to be ant-associated, and both families possess specialized, convergently developed exocrine glands and stridulatory devices to communicate with ants. Many caterpillar-ant relationships previously characterized as mutualisms may actually be parasitic, as caterpillars can manipulate ants and ultimately exert a fitness cost. In the family Lycaenidae, highly specialized and obligate ant associations are found largely in the Old World tropics, Australia, and Southern Africa, where the stoichiometry of soil micronutrients, particularly sodium and phosphorus, climate, host plants, and geography may all selectively shape caterpillar-ant associations.

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Acoustic communication within ant societies and its mimicry by mutualistic and socially parasitic myrmecophiles

Abstract: Acoustic communication within ant societies and its mimicry by mutualistic and socially parasitic myrmecophiles [in special issue: Communicative complexity].

Cited by 29 publications

References 61 publications

Brood recognition and discrimination in ants

Brood recognition and discrimination in ants

Multimodal Signaling in Myrmecophilous Butterflies

The Natural History of Caterpillar-Ant Associations

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