Intercolony transplantation of Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) larvae

Oecophylla ants are utilized for biological control in fruit plantations in Australia and Asia. In Asia, queen larvae and alates are sold on commercial markets for human and animal consumption. This double utilization has induced an increasing interest in the domestication of these ants, but attempts to rear live colonies have been hindered partly by the length of time it takes from the founding of a colony until it can be utilized commercially. Early growth of a colony may be increased if ants from other colonies are adopted. The present experiments show that Oecophylla smaragdina larvae transplanted from other colonies are readily tolerated by non-nestmate workers and are reared to imagos. These results are fundamental for the future domestication of Oecophylla and elucidate the need for further studies of chemical nestmate recognition.     

Association of ants with juvenile Ogyris amaryllis amaryllis Hewitson (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in south-eastern Queensland

The life history of the mistletoe-feeding butterfly Ogyris amaryllis is commonly thought to involve an obligate association with ants. The distribution of eggs of subspecies O. a. meridionalis Bethune-Baker, which occurs over much of the Australian interior, is strongly associated with Iridomyrmex ants. This study examined the level and frequency of ant association exhibited by larvae and pupae of O. a. amaryllis , which occurs in coastal areas of eastern Australia. The distribution of juveniles was compared with that of ants at the scale of sites, mistletoe host trees, and larval sheltering locations. A significant positive association between larvae and ants was detected, although this association was weak and non-specific, indicating that O. a. amaryllis is facultatively myrmecophilous. Observed ant attendance of larvae was uncommon (5.6%). Available evidence suggests that either plasticity exists in the degree of myrmecophily of O. amaryllis , with different degrees of association expressed under different ecological circumstances, or different degrees of myrmecophily are characteristic of subspecific status.     

Host-ant trail following by myrmecophilous larvae of Liphyrinae (Lepidoptera,Lycaenidae)

In this study we report a case of ant-trail following by lycaenid caterpillars. Euliphyra mirifica and E. leucyana caterpillars are involved in a commensal association with the weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda. The host nests are made with leaves which over the course of time dry out or are broken open by storms, forcing the ants to migrate and build a new nest elsewhere. Euliphyra caterpillars are stimulated by recruitment behaviour which triggers the migration of their host. They then follow the host trails leading to the new nesting site. Laboratory experiments showed that these caterpillars are able to follow host trails under varied conditions: (1) fresh trails actually used by workers, (2) fresh trails in the absence of workers, (3) heterocolonial, 2-month-old trails, and (4) fresh trails washed with water (to simulate the effect of tropical rains). They can also bridge trail gaps of more than 1 cm. Under natural conditions, the trails are frequently situated along thin twigs. The forward progress of the ants in such a situation is not impeded by the presence of large Euliphyra larvae. Workers just climb over the caterpillars, even on larger trails where there is enough room to pass alongside them. This suggests that an allomone is secreted on the dorsal part of the caterpillars. When crawling along heterocolonial trails, the caterpillars are not attacked, even if about 21% of the workers from the new colony spread their mandibles when encountering them. They are then adopted and are admitted to the nest of the new host colony of O. longinoda.     

The Light and Magnetic Compass of the Weaver Ant,Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Some of the foraging of the arboreal Australian weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina takes place on the ground. Odor trails and compass orientation are used to return to the trunk of their nesting tree. Field experiments established directional responses to light and the natural magnetic field. The precision of the light compass orientation is much greater than that of the magnetic compass orientation: the respective average wrapped-around standard deviations (WSD) of directional choices towards home are WSD = ± 48° and WSD = ± 105°.     

中国海胆蚁属分类研究（膜翅目：蚁科）

记录中国海胆蚁属Echinopla蚂蚁3种,即乞拉朋海胆蚁E.cherapunjiensis、条纹海胆蚁E.striat和侧毛海胆蚁E.lateropilosa,后者为中国新记录种.提供了工蚁形态描述、测量数据、地理分布和高清彩图,编制了工蚁分种检索表.     

The influence of diet on growth and secretion behaviour of myrmecophilous Polyommatus icarus caterpillars (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Abstract.

• 1 Caterpillars of the facultatively myrmecophilous butterfly Polyommatus icarus were reared on inflorescences, or foliage, of four natural hostplant species and on an artificial diet to study dietary effects on larval growth and secretory capacity.
• 2 Caterpillars achieved highest weights and relative growth rates when fed flowers of Medicago sativa, Lotus corniculatus or Melilotus officinalis. Larvae reared on Coroniüa varia (flowers and leaves), foliage of M.sativa and on the artificial diet pupated at lower weights and achieved lower growth rates.
• 3 In standardized experiments with the ant species Lasius flavus, secretion rates from the dorsal nectar organ (DNO) were 2 times higher among flower-fed caterpillars than among foliage-fed siblings or caterpillars on the artificial diet. Larvae reared on C.varia flowers were superior to all other food treatments with respect to secretion rates.
• 4 High water content of larval diet, as in flowers, appears to be important for lycaenid caterpillars to achieve high secretion rates, whereas the correlation between myrmecophily and nutrient availability, as evidenced by growth rates, was less pronounced.
• 5 Using experimental data on larval growth and secretion rates, the lifetime volume of secretions from the DNO is estimated to range from 2 to 5 μl in most food treatments. Only on C.varia flowers (5.5–8.7 μl) and on M.sativa leaves (0.9–1.1 μl) did the caterpillars deviate in their absolute investment in myrmecophily.
• 6 The estimated lifetime investment accounted for 1.6–5.5% of prepupal fresh weight in all food treatments except on C.varia flowers (7.8–12.3%).

     

Functional analysis of the myrmecophilous relationships between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and lycaenids (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Summary Mature larvae of the myrmecophilous lycaenid Polyommatus coridon produce an average of 30.9 droplets of a honeydew-like secretion per hour. They occur in population densities of about 20/m². The volume of secretion over the whole larval period is estimated to be 22–44 l with an energy content of 55–110 J. Thus, P. coridon larvae produce carbohydrate secretions with an energy equivalent of 1.1–2.2 kJ/m². Using data from the literature on ant metabolism, it is shown that these carbohydrate secretions may contribute significantly to the nutrition of attending ants. The myrmecophilous relationship between the larvae of P. coridon and ants should therefore be regarded as a mutualistic symbiosis.     

Haplotype diversity and distribution pattern of Oecophylla smaragdina (Fabricius) (Hymenoptera,Formicidae) in Bangladesh based on mitochondrial COI genes

Climatic oscillation often have influenced the present distribution and intraspecific genetic diversity Oecophylla smaragdina through its wide range of geographical distribution. Previous phylogeographic study of Asian weaver ant population denotes the evidence of distribution of Indian types in Indian, Sri Lanka and SE Asian types in South Asian countries including Bangladesh. However, recent phylogenetic analysis reveals the overlapping distribution of the Indian and South East Asian clades of O. smaragdina in Bangladesh. The present study aims to identify the haplotypes and it’s networking in Bangladesh based on extensive materials. Sampling was executed according to zonation of 5 areas, demarcated by 3 main rivers during the years 2013 to 2018. Adult O. smaragadina workers were collected from 71 colonies of 67 localities belonging to 47 districts of Bangladesh. A total of 25 haplotypes were identified in Bangladesh comprises 13 and 12 of Indian and SE Asian types, respectively from 93 sequences of Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene of 639 bp. The geographical distribution of this haplotype reveals that the Indian haplotypes are mostly located at the western part of Bangladesh while SE Asian haplotypes were dominated in the Eastern part of the country. Central part of Bangladesh has overlapped with the mixture of both Indian and SE Asian haplotypes. The results of the haplotype network give the evidence of recent expansion of O. smaragdina population in Bangladesh and clarify the evidence of presence of many missing haplotypes in refugee.     

Specializations and polyphagy of Plebejus argus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in North Wales

Abstract. 1. The polyphagous butterfly, Plebejus argus L., was found to have specialized requirements: eggs are laid along vegetation/bare ground margins, larvae specialize on tender meristematic and reproductive growth, larvae and pupae are tended by Lasius ants, and warm microclimates are favoured.
2. These requirements are met in early successional habitats within several bio topes. These habitats are locally distributed, as is P. argus.
3. Populations on limestone, heathland and mossland biotopes did not differ greatly in ecologies. Given a choice of foodplants in captivity, larvae from heathland and limestone did show slight differences in preference, selecting some of the hostplants they normally encounter in the wild. Regardless of biotope, all these larvae were plant taxa generalists (on three plant families), but specialists on plant parts.
4. The decline of P. argus in Britain is attributed to loss of biotopes and to declining traditional management of them. Fewer habitats are available, and the distances between them are greater than formerly. As some of these habitats are short lived, and P. argus rarely flies far, the butterfly's decline is a compound effect of reduced areas of habitat and inability to colonize them.     

Adoption of lycaenid Niphanda fusca (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) caterpillars by the host ant Camponotus japonicus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Caterpillars of the parasitic lycaenid butterfly are often adopted by host ants. It has been proposed that this adoption occurs because the caterpillars mimic the cuticular hydrocarbons of the host ant. This study aimed to examine whether caterpillars of the Japanese lycaenid butterfly Niphanda fusca induce adoption by mimicking their host ant Camponotus japonicus. Behavioral observations conducted in the laboratory showed that most second‐instar caterpillars were not adopted, whereas most third‐instar caterpillars were successfully adopted by host workers. A chemical comparison detected no characteristic differences in the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles between second‐ and third‐instar caterpillars. However, morphological features of the caterpillars differed between the second and third instars; third‐instar caterpillars developed exocrine glands (ant organs) such as tentacle organs and a dorsal nectary organ. These results suggest that multiple chemical signatures, not only cuticular hydrocarbons, may be important for invasion of the host ant nest.     

Imaginal wing discs in larvae of the soldier caste of Pheidole bicarinata vinelandica Forel (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)

In Pheidole bicarinata vinelandica, soldier larvae have prominent mesothoracic wing discs. Imaginal wing discs are suppressed in minor worker larvae. In soldiers, wing discs appear abruptly late in larvae life and are unusually large when compared with wing discs in worker larvae of other ant genera. Once development has been initiated, wing discs of soldier larvae grow at a rate comparable to soldier leg discs. The dynamics of development of soldier wing discs differ fundamentally from those of other holometabolous insects, worker ants and Pheidole bicarinata queens. This unusual developmental pattern may provide a clue to the physiological basis and timing of soldier determination.     

When caterpillars attack: Biogeography and life history evolution of the Miletinae (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

Of the four most diverse insect orders, Lepidoptera contains remarkably few predatory and parasitic species. Although species with these habits have evolved multiple times in moths and butterflies, they have rarely been associated with diversification. The wholly aphytophagous subfamily Miletinae (Lycaenidae) is an exception, consisting of nearly 190 species distributed primarily throughout the Old World tropics and subtropics. Most miletines eat Hemiptera, although some consume ant brood or are fed by ant trophallaxis. A well‐resolved phylogeny inferred using 4915 bp from seven markers sampled from representatives of all genera and nearly one‐third the described species was used to examine the biogeography and evolution of biotic associations in this group. Biogeographic analyses indicate that Miletinae likely diverged from an African ancestor near the start of the Eocene, and four lineages dispersed between Africa and Asia. Phylogenetic constraint in prey selection is apparent at two levels: related miletine species are more likely to feed on related Hemiptera, and related miletines are more likely to associate with related ants, either directly by eating the ants, or indirectly by eating hemipteran prey that are attended by those ants. These results suggest that adaptations for host ant location by ovipositing female miletines may have been retained from phytophagous ancestors that associated with ants mutualistically.     

Effects of Argentine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on myrmecophilous lycaenid butterfly,Narathura bazalus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), in western Japan

Effects of the invasive Argentine ant, Linepithema humile (Mayr), on a myrmecophilous butterfly, Narathura bazalus (Hewiston), were investigated in the field in western Japan. Larvae of N. bazalus were attended by workers of Argentine ants in invaded parks and of ten native and one cosmopolitan ant species in uninvaded parks. The abundance of eggs and larvae were not significantly different between invaded and uninvaded parks. Pupal weight and parasitized ratio by tachinid flies were also not different between the two types of parks. These results indicate that the role of Argentine ants for the butterfly might be almost equivalent to the native ants.     

Alarm-recruitment behaviour in Pheidole militicida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

ABSTRACT.

• 1 Pheidole militicida Wheeler, a seed-harvesting species of the southwestern United States, possesses a major worker caste (soldiers) with unusually large heads. Previous work suggested that these large major workers are specialized defenders against large seed-harvesting species in the genus Pogonomyrmex.
• 2 Experimental introductions of Pogonomyrmex maricopa Wheeler and the omnivorous fire ant, Solenopsis xyloni McCook, demonstrate that P. militicida colonies alarm-recruit major workers against S.xyloni workers but not against the larger Pogonomyrmex workers.
• 3 P.militicida is the second species in which enemy-specific defence against Solenopsis fire ants has been detected. I suggest that the special role of Solenopsis as both competitor and predator in ant communities frequently favours major worker specialization against this genus.
• 4 Major workers of P.militicida and Pheidole dentata Mayr, the other species with enemy-specific defence against Solenopsis, are morphologically very different from one another. It is suggested that interspecific variation in major worker morphology is not necessarily associated with variation in behavioural specialization.

     

Subterranean species of the ant genus Crematogaster in Asia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Three Crematogaster ant species, C. (Orthocrema) javanica Menozzi, C. (O.) myops Forel and C. (O.) masukoi sp. nov., share reduced compound eyes which characterizes them among Asian species of the subgenus Orthocrema. The new species is described based on material from Borneo. It can be distinguished from C. javanica and C. myops by its smooth surface of clypeus and acutely produced subpetiolar process. Reduced compound eyes and yellowish body suggest that these three species are subterranean.     

Wing disc development during caste differentiation in the ant Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The genus Pheidole has three distinct castes in females: queen, major, and minor workers. It has been believed that the larvae of major workers have prominent mesothoracic wing discs, although the minor worker larvae lack them. Here we conducted histological examinations of wing discs during larval development in P. megacephala. We show that all three castes have mesothoracic wing discs, at least in their early stage of the final larval instar, and that the wings degenerate differently in the dimorphic worker castes. The minute wing discs of minor workers neither grow nor metamorphose but disappear during the prepupal stage. On the contrary, the wing discs of major workers evaginate at the onset of the prepupal stage but subsequently degenerate by apoptotic cell death. This apoptotic wing degeneration in the prepupal stage was contradistinguished from wing degeneration in some lepidopteran insects, in which apoptosis occurs in the pupal wing buds. Our results suggest that each worker caste shows a different degeneration process to express the wingless character and that apoptotic degeneration has been adopted in association with the evolution of worker dimorphism.