Ambush Predation of Stingless Bees (Tetragonisca angustula) by the Solitary-Foraging Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum

Ostwald, Madeleine M.; Ruzi, Selina A.; Baudier, Kaitlin M.

doi:10.1007/s10905-018-9694-9

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Lepidoptera larvae have been recorded as prey for N. verenae previously by Longino (2010), also serving as food for other Neoponera species, as Neoponera apicalis (Latreille) (Fresneau, 1985). N. obscuricornis were observed preying on Hemiptera nymphs (Sujii et al, 2004), however predation on Membracidae is something new, being known only in other groups of poneromorph ants (Arias-Penna, 2008), the same can be said in relation to the capture of apid bees (Arias-Penna, 2008;Ostwald et al, 2018) and other hymenopterans as ants (Arias-Penna, 2008;Tofolo et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Nest Architecture and Animals Associated with Neoponera verenae (Forel) (Formicidae, Ponerinae)

2021

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The nests of ants Neoponera have chambers that can also be occupied by other species of organisms that can be tenants, visitors or prey. However, few studies have considered the assemblage of the associated species and described their composition. This study aimed to describe the architecture and catalog the visitors and prey species found in Neoponera verenae nests. Talcum powder was pumped inside eight nests to mark the chambers and tunnels. The nests were then excavated to describe the architecture and obtain measurements of chambers. The associated species encountered in the nests were collected and identified allowing us to obtain new records of visiting (Linepithema sp., cryptodesmid millipedes and Neotropacarus sp.) and prey taxa (membracids, apid bees and springtails) of N. verenae. Generally, nests had a single entrance hole and a depth of up to 42 cm. Nest chambers were found with three basic forms, elliptical, hangers and boot. Although studies show that this species can occupy abandoned nests of leaf-cutting ants, we found that the nests of N. verenae were more similar to those of Ectatomma ants. Indeed, we found one of the N. verenae nests was attached to a Ectatomma edentatum nest, leading us to suggest that N. verenae may occupy abandoned nests or displace other ants to occupy them.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Nest Architecture and Animals Associated with Neoponera verenae (Forel) (Formicidae, Ponerinae)

2021

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“…We found that the removal time decreases from the first to the last removal (df = 33; χ² = 13.127; p = 0.001; Pseudo-R² = 0.76; Fig 4). the search and removal of seeds alone (Gomes et al, 2009;Ostwald et al, 2018). In contrast, smaller ants are rarely able to hold and remove diaspores on their own, needing to recruit other workers to transport the resource.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ant species that remove diaspores alone are more efficient removers

et al. 2022

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Secondary diaspore removal on the ground is an important ecosystem process. In this process, solitary foraging ants with larger body sizes are more efficient because they may remove more diaspores, faster and carry them at greater distances. Therefore, we sought to test the effects of the sizes of the morphological traits of ants, removal strategy, and nest distance on secondary diaspore removal, testing hypotheses related to the efficiency of this process. We evaluated the removal of artificial diaspores by ants in 15 areas of Cerrado sensu stricto (tropical savanna), collecting data on diaspore removal strategy (solitary or group), nest distance, diaspore discovery time, diaspore removal time, and the number of diaspores removed. Larger ants tended to remove diaspores alone and remove diaspores faster than smaller ones. Ants that removed diaspores alone removed more diaspores than ants that removed diaspores in groups. However, we did not find a linear relationship between ant size and diaspore removal. This is likely due to a limitation on, or a preference by larger ants for removing larger diaspores, while the smaller diaspores may have hindered manipulation or been less attractive to larger ants. Thus, the removal strategy was the best predictor of efficient diaspore removal performance, where the solitary foraging ants discover and remove diaspores quickly and remove more diaspores, mainly from the closest nests to the sampling point. However, the benefits (or not) of removing more diaspores still need to be evaluated.

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“…Other highly predatory ants observed foraging on army ant middens both in this study and on BCI (Rettenmeyer, 1962a) were members of the subfamily Ectatomminae. Ants in this subfamily often deploy solitary foragers that engage in sit‐and‐wait predation to capture live insect prey (Lima & Antonialli‐Junior, 2013; Ostwald et al., 2018; Schatz & Wcislo, 1999; Wheeler, 1986). However, intra‐specific stealing of food items is also well described (McGlynn et al., 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One ant's trash is another ant's treasure: Army ant middens provide resources for diverse ant assemblages

Robles López,

Sosa‐Calvo,

Calixto

et al. 2023

Biotropica

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The army ant Eciton burchellii boasts more animal associates than any other animal species yet described, but the relationship between army ants and other ant species has only been studied in the context of predation. The waste deposits (middens) of army ant colonies are nitrogen‐rich, a potentially high‐value nutrient source for leaflitter arthropods. We explored this bottom‐up role of army ant middens in the context of tropical ant communities. Our three main questions were the followings: (1) Which ant species forage on army‐ant middens? (2) How does the bi‐phasic life cycle of army ant colonies (affecting midden size, persistence, and abundance) affect which and how many ant species a midden boasts? (3) How do the ants that forage on army ant middens differ across elevations? Across 39 bivouacs, we found 36 species of ants foraging on army ant middens. These included highly predatory ants, nitrogen‐limited arboreal ants, and fungus‐farming ants. Per‐midden richness was significantly lower for the usually smaller middens deposited during the nomadic phase and was higher for the typically larger middens deposited during the statary phase. Per‐midden richness was not significantly different across elevations, but there was far greater species turnover across elevations than across phases within the same elevational site. Our results suggest that army ant middens are an important resource for a wide variety of tropical ants, informing a better understanding of the complex network of associations revolving around this keystone species.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material

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Ambush Predation of Stingless Bees (Tetragonisca angustula) by the Solitary-Foraging Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum

Cited by 12 publications

References 23 publications

Nest Architecture and Animals Associated with Neoponera verenae (Forel) (Formicidae, Ponerinae)

Nest Architecture and Animals Associated with Neoponera verenae (Forel) (Formicidae, Ponerinae)

Ant species that remove diaspores alone are more efficient removers

One ant's trash is another ant's treasure: Army ant middens provide resources for diverse ant assemblages

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