The socially parasitic ant genus Strongylognathus Mayr in North Africa (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sanetra, Matthias; Güsten, Robert

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.20.1.1

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Besides stealing the host brood unmolested, the slavemaker carries the adult host workers into its own nest and integrates them into its slave workforce (Beudulosis,^Kutter 1957). So far, eudulosis has only been described in the slavemakers Strongylognathus afer, Formica naefi, and infrequently in Polyergus rufescens, and it is as yet unclear how adult enslavement is accomplished (Kutter 1957;D'Ettorre and Heinze 2001;Sanetra and Guesten 2001). Ants learn their colony odor as young adults and hence attack chemically distinct slavemakers rather than being induced to work for them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

Kleeberg

Foitzik

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Host entry is a crucial step in a parasite's life cycle. When parasites manage to circumvent host detection, exploitation of host resources is facilitated, as host defenses have not to be counteracted. Social parasites exploit animal societies and, likewise, detection avoidance can be beneficial. Yet, due to strong selection pressures, hosts of socially parasitic slavemaking ants often recognize them as enemies, so that slavemakers use open force to raid host colonies. These fights, however, prohibit the enslavement of adult host workers (eudulosis), which cannot be manipulated to work for them. Instead, they steal brood during raids, and enslave those upon emergence. In contrast to the violent raids of most slavemakers, no aggression occurs during most of the raids of the newly described slavemaker Temnothorax pilagens. Thereby, T. pilagens regularly induces adult host workers to be part of their slave workforce. We demonstrate that nonenslaved colonies of its host species respond to this slavemaker with little aggression. We further investigate how the slavemaker circumvents recognition and show that chemical resemblance of host profiles might explain the low aggressive responses. But, which parameters determine whether slave raids escalate, resulting in carnage among defenders? Our experiments reveal that host aggression is counterproductive as aggressive host colonies suffer from more fatalities during raids, but cannot save more brood. The slavemaker, however, benefits from not eliciting fights, as it doubles its enslaved workforce by capturing brood plus adult host workers. Hence, undercutting recognition allows the slavemaker to avoid raid escalation with its associated fitness benefits.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

Kleeberg

Foitzik

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…The fact that early experience is important for the integration of the young slaves into the slave-maker colony might explain why M. ravouxi and C. muellerianus do not capture adult hosts during raids [29,30]. In fact, out of 10 genera displaying interspecific slavery, only one is known to result in the mixing of adult slaves into the slave-maker colony [26]: raids of the slave-making Strongylognathus commonly end in the fusion with the Tetramorium host nest [31]. However, the fusion occurs after a prolonged fight that often results in casualties on both sides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of early experience in ant enslavement: a comparative analysis of a host and a non-host species

Blatrix

Sermage

2005

Front Zool

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Background: Ants use the odour of the colony to discriminate nestmates. In some species, this odour is learned during the first days following emergence, and thus early experience has a strong influence on nestmate discrimination. Slave-making ants are social parasites that capture brood of other ant species to increase the worker force of their colony. After emerging in the slave-maker nest, slave workers work as if they were in their own colony. We tested the hypothesis that early experience allows the deception of commonly enslaved species, while non-host species use a different mechanism, which does not involve learning.

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“…Sanetra et al 1999;Sanetra & Buschinger 2000). Polygyny in a potential host species might be seen as a critical barrier for colony-founding queens of socially parasitic ants (see also Sanetra & Güsten 2001). Cagniant (1997), treating this taxon as a subspecies of T. caespitum, cites records from diverse sites throughout Morocco.…”

Section: Differentiation Of Malesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Redescription of Tetramorium forte Forel, 1904 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a western Mediterranean ant species

Güsten

Schulz²,

Sanetra

2006

Zootaxa

Self Cite

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The western Mediterranean ant species Tetramorium forte Forel, 1904 is redescribed and a lectotype is designated. Taxonomic controversy surrounding the application of the name and its synonymy is thereby resolved: T. ruginode Stitz, 1917 (with its junior synonym T. hispanicum Bondroit, 1918), T. maurum tingitanum Santschi, 1929 and T. maroccanum De Haro & Collingwood, 1994 are relegated to synonymy with T. forte. Lectotypes are designated for T. hispanicum, T. maurum tingitanum, T. maroccanum and T. silvestrianum Emery, 1924. The latter taxon, previously regarded as a junior synonym of T. forte, is synonymized with Myrmica

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The socially parasitic ant genus Strongylognathus Mayr in North Africa (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cited by 6 publications

References 4 publications

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

Role of early experience in ant enslavement: a comparative analysis of a host and a non-host species

Redescription of Tetramorium forte Forel, 1904 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a western Mediterranean ant species

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