Tuned protection of aphids by ants against a predatory hoverfly

Detrain, Claire; Fichaux, Mélanie; Verheggen, François

doi:10.1111/een.12378

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Third, characteristics associated with protection quality and quantity (e.g. aggressiveness, abundance, and frequency) are easy to measure and feasible to manipulate in experiments (Ness et al, 2006;Detrain et al, 2017). Fourth, protected species are often sensitive to defence service variation (Ness et al, 2006;Palmer et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defence variation within a guild of aphid‐tending ants explains aphid population growth

Devegili

Lescano

Gianoli

et al. 2020

Ecological Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mutualism studies often focus on the service provided by single species, while variation in benefits provided by multiple partners is less understood. Ant‐aphid food‐for‐protection mutualisms are suitable to study the implications of intra‐guild service variation because they often involve several ant species with varying levels of aggressiveness. We studied an aphid species and its associated ant guild to address whether intra‐guild defence variation against aphid natural enemies explains aphid performance on plants (thistles). We surveyed plants with natural abundances of aphids associated with different ant species and estimated aphid population growth. We conducted confrontation experiments between ant species and aphid natural enemies (ladybugs and hoverfly larvae). In plants patrolled by the most aggressive ant species, we determined the ant's probability of expelling aphid natural enemies and tested whether ant exclusion affects the abundance of aphids and their natural enemies. The ant Dorymyrmex tener was the most abundant and frequent species on plants and the most aggressive against aphid natural enemies. Aphid populations grew faster on plants patrolled by D. tener compared to plants patrolled by Camponotus distinguendus or D. richteri. Field experiments confirmed that D. tener effectively expels aphid natural enemies from plants. When D. tener was excluded, the density of aphids decreased, while the abundance of aphid natural enemies increased. The disruption of aphid predation by aggressive and numerically dominant ant species is a determinant of aphid population dynamics. This study illustrates the importance of considering intra‐guild service variation to better understand multi‐partner mutualisms.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Defence variation within a guild of aphid‐tending ants explains aphid population growth

Devegili

Lescano

Gianoli

et al. 2020

Ecological Entomology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, ants strongly rely on odor cues both in navigation (Czaczkes, Schlosser, Heinze, & Witte, 2014;Josens, Eschbach, & Giurfa, 2009;Oberhauser, Schlemm, Wendt, & Czaczkes, 2019;Provecho & Josens, 2009;Roces, 1994) and nestmate recognition (Akino, Yamamura, Wakamura, & Yamaoka, 2004;Brandstaetter, Endler, & Kleineidam, 2008;Sturgis & Gordon, 2012). However, because Lasius niger ants mainly feed on honeydew (Detrain, Fichaux, & Verheggen, 2017;Devigne & Detrain, 2002;Völkl & Mackauer, 1993;Völkl, Woodring, Fischer, This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Labeling effect in insects: Cue associations influence perceived food value in ants (Lasius niger).

Wendt¹,

Czaczkes²

2020

Journal of Comparative Psychology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Humans usually assess options not in terms of absolute value, but relative to reference points. The framing of alternatives can strongly affect human decision-making, leading to different choices depending on the context within which options are presented. Similar reference-point effects have been recently reported in ants, in which foragers show contrast effects: Ants overvalue a medium-quality food source if they were expecting a poor one, and vice versa for expectations of good food. However, studies of human consumer psychology have demonstrated that expectations, for instance, from product labels, can drive value perception in the opposite direction, via a process of assimilation. For example, an expensive bottle of wine is perceived as more enjoyable compared with a cheaper bottle, even if the wine is the same. In this study, we demonstrate a similar labeling-association effect in an insect: Ants showed assimilation effects by spending twice as long drinking at medium-quality food if it was scented with an odor previously associated with high quality than if it was scented with a poor-quality label. The presence of odor cues in the food during consumption and evaluation is critical, as without them, odor-driven expectations of quality result in contrast, not assimilation effects. The addition of a quality label in the food thus reverses contrast effects and causes value to be aligned with expectations, rather than being contrasted against them. As value judgment is a key element in decision-making, relative value perception strongly influences which option is chosen and ultimately how choices are made.

show abstract

“…Each test lasted 10 min after the first contact between the insects. Similar with the Detrain et al (2017) study, we used the third instar syrphid larvae of 9–13 mm length. We tested 36 aphid milkers, 20 hunters, and 16 naïve foragers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The interaction between red wood ants and hoverfly larvae can serve as a natural and somehow unique experimental model in studying differences in learning abilities between members of different task groups. Hoverfly (Diptera, Syrphidae) females use semiochemicals to locate aphid colonies and to oviposit eggs from which aphidophagous larvae hatch (see reviews in: Detrain et al, 2017). It is known that aphids provide a vital energy source that is essential for the survival and growth of the ant colony (Addicott, 1978; Skinner and Whittaker, 1981), and ants actively protect their trophobionts from all aphidophages (Novgorodova and Gavrilyuk, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hoverfly larvae use adhesive saliva to incapacitate an attacker (Eisner, 1972; Rotheray, 1986). Ecological aspects of intricate interplay between ants and hoverfly larvae have been studied recently on F. pratensis by Novgorodova (2015) and on Lasius niger by Detrain et al (2017). Both studies showed that to prevent predation of aphids by hoverfly larvae, ants demonstrated aggressive behavior; once bitten by ants, third instar hoverfly larvae released a droplet of viscous and sticky secretion from the mouth, which hardens like glue.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Red Wood Ants Display Natural Aversive Learning Differently Depending on Their Task Specialization

Iakovlev

Резникова

2019

Front. Psychol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The adaptive benefits of individual specialization and how learning abilities correlate with task performance are still far from being well-understood. Red wood ants are characterized by their huge colonies and deep professional specialization. We hypothesized that red wood ants Formica aquilonia form aversive learning after having negative encounters with hoverfly larvae differently, depending on their task specialization. We tested this hypothesis, first, by examining whether hunters and aphid milkers learn differently to avoid the nuisance of contacts with syrphid larvae, and, second, by analyzing the difference between learning in “field” and laboratory-reared (naïve) foragers. During the first interaction with the syrphid larva in their lives the naïve foragers showed a significantly higher level of aggressiveness than the members of a natural colony. Naïve foragers applied the “mortal grip,” “prolonged bites,” and “nibbling” toward the enemy with a significantly higher frequency, whereas members of both “field” groups behaved more carefully and tried to avoid encounters with the larva. The aphid milkers, who had a negative experience of interaction with the larva, being “glued” with its viscous secretion, behaved much less aggressively in the follow-up experiments after 10 min and even 3 days, thus exhibiting the shaping of both short- and long-term memories. However, both “field” hunters and naïve foragers demonstrated no signs of aversive learning. These data provide some new insights into the relationship between task specialization and learning performance in ants. Given our previous results, we speculate that scouts and aphid milkers are the most cognitively gifted specialists in red wood ants, whereas hunters and guards are rather brave than smart.

show abstract

Tuned protection of aphids by ants against a predatory hoverfly

Cited by 7 publications

References 48 publications

Defence variation within a guild of aphid‐tending ants explains aphid population growth

Defence variation within a guild of aphid‐tending ants explains aphid population growth

Labeling effect in insects: Cue associations influence perceived food value in ants (Lasius niger).

Red Wood Ants Display Natural Aversive Learning Differently Depending on Their Task Specialization

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About