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Ant mimicry

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Top: An ant in Mozambique
Bottom: An ant-mimicking spider,Myrmarachne

Ant mimicryormyrmecomorphyismimicryofantsby other organisms; it has evolved over 70 times. Ants are abundant all over the world, and potentialpredatorsthat rely on vision to identify their prey, such asbirdsandwasps,normally avoid them, because they are either unpalatable or aggressive. Somearthropodsmimic ants to escape predation (Batesian mimicry), while somepredators of ants,especially spiders, mimic them anatomically and behaviourally inaggressive mimicry.Ant mimicry has existed almost as long as ants themselves; the earliest ant mimics in the fossil record appear in the mid-Cretaceousalongside the earliest ants.

Inmyrmecophily,mimic and model livecommensallytogether; in the case of ants, the mimic is aninquilinein the ants' nest. Such mimics may in addition be Batesian or aggressive mimics. To overcome ants' powerful defences, mimics may imitate ants chemically with ant-likepheromones,visually, or by imitating an ant's surface microstructure to defeat the ants' tactile inspections.

Types[edit]

Batesian mimicry[edit]

Thick waist of theMiridant bug,Myrmecoris gracilisis camouflaged with white markings.[1]

Batesian mimicslack strong defences of their own, and make use of their resemblance to a well-defendedmodel,in this case ants, to avoid being attacked by theirpredators.A special case is where the predator is itself an ant, so that only two species are involved.[2][3]The mimicry can be extremely close: for instance, Dipteran flies in the genusSyringogaster,"strikingly" resemblePseudomyrmexand are hard even for experts to distinguish "until they take flight".[4]Insects that do not share the narrow-waisted body plan of ants are sometimes elaborately camouflaged to improve their resemblance. For example, the thick waist of theMiridant bugMyrmecoris gracilishas white markings at the front of its abdomen and the back of its thorax, making it look ant-waisted.[1]

Over 300 spider species mimic the social behaviours, morphological features and predatory behaviour of ants. Many genera ofjumping spiders (Salticidae)mimic ants.[5]Jumping spiders in the genusMyrmarachneare Batesian mimics which resemble the morphological and behavioural properties of ants to near perfection. These spiders mimic the behavioural features of ants such as adopting their zig-zaglocomotionpattern.[6]Further, they create an antennal illusion by waving their first or second pair of legs in the air. The slender bodies of these spiders make them more agile, allowing them to easily escape from predators. Studies on this genus have revealed that the major selection force is the avoidance of ants by predators such asspider waspsand other larger jumping spiders.[7][8][9]Ant mimicry has a cost, given the body plan of spiders: the body of spider myrmecomorphs is much narrower than non-mimics, reducing the number of eggs per eggsac, compared to non-mimetic spiders of similar size. They seem to compensate by laying more eggsacs over their lifetimes.[8]A study of three species ofmantisessuggested that they innately avoided ants as prey, and that this aversion extends to ant-mimicking jumping spiders.[10]

Batesian mimicry of ants appears to have evolved even in certain plants, as a visualanti-herbivory strategy.[11]Passifloraflowers of at least 22 species, such asP. incarnata,have dark dots and stripes on their flowers for this purpose.[12]

  • It has been suggested that the elongated spots on the reproductive organs of Passiflora incarnata and related species are ant-mimicking to deter herbivores.[12]
    It has been suggested that the elongated spots on the reproductive organs ofPassiflora incarnataand related species are ant-mimicking to deter herbivores.[12]

Myrmecophily[edit]

Further information:Myrmecophily
The cricketMyrmecophilus acervorumis amyrmecophile,resembling its ant hosts by touch, or perhaps by pheromones, but not visually.

Some arthropods aremyrmecophiles,mimicking ants by non-visual means, including touch, behaviour, and pheromones. Many groups of myrmecophiles haveconvergently evolvedsimilar features. They are not necessarily visual mimics of ants.[13]The mimicry allows them to live unharmed within ant nests, some beetles even marching with the aggressiveEciton burchelliiarmy ants.[14]The Jesuit priestErich Wasmann,who discovered ant mimicry, listed 1,177 myrmecophiles in 1894; many more such species have been discovered since then.[14]

The cricketMyrmecophilus acervorumwas one of the earliest myrmecophiles to be studied; its relationship with ants was first described by the Italian naturalistPaolo Saviin 1819.[15][16]It has many ant species as hosts, and occurs in large and small morphs suited to large hosts likeFormicaandMyrmica,and the small workers of species such asLasius.On first arriving in an ants' nest, the crickets are attacked by the workers, and are killed if they do not run fast enough. Within a few days, however, they adjust their movements to match those of their hosts, and are then tolerated. Mimicry appears to be achieved by a combination of social releasers (signals), whether by imitating the ants' solicitation (begging) signals with suitable behaviour or ant pheromones with suitable chemicals; Hölldobler and Wilson propose thatWasmannian mimicry,where the mimic lives alongside the model, be redefined to permit any such combination, making it essentially a synonym for myrmecophily.[16]

Mitesare among the most speciose mimics of ants, and can occur in large numbers in an ant colony. A single colony ofEciton burchelliiarmy ants may contain some 20,000inquilinemites.[14]The phoretic mitePlanodiscus(Uropodidae) attaches itself to the tibia of its host ant,Eciton hamatum.The cuticular sculpturing of the mite's body as seen under theelectron microscopestrongly resembles the sculpturing of the ant's leg, as do the arrangements and number of the bristles (setae). Presumably, the effect is that when the ant grooms its leg, the tactile sensation is as it would be in mite-free grooming.[16]

The snailAllopeas myrmekophiloslives in army ant colonies.[17]

Lycaenid butterflies[edit]

Further information:LycaenidaeandPhengaris rebeli
Pupaeof thelycaenidbutterflyPhengaris rebeliin ant nest

Some 75% oflycaenidbutterfly species are myrmecophiles, their larvae and pupae living associal parasitesin ant nests.[18][19][20][21]These lycaenids mimic the broodpheromoneand thealarm callof ants so they can integrate themselves into the nest. InAloeides dentatisthe tubercles release the mimicking pheromone which deceives its host, the antAcantholepis caprensis,into caring for the mimics as they would their own brood. In these relationships,worker antsgive the same preference to the lycaenids as they do to their own brood, demonstrating that chemical signals produced by the mimic are indistinguishable to the ant. Larvae of the mountain Alcon blue,Phengaris rebeli,similarly mimicMyrmicaants and feed on their brood.[21]

Parasitoid wasps[edit]

The parasitoid waspGelis agilis(Ichneumonidae) shares many similarities with the antLasius niger.G. agilisis a wingless wasp which exhibits multi-trait mimicry of garden ants, imitating the ant's morphology, behaviour, and surface chemicals that serve as pheromones,cuticular hydrocarbons.[22][23]When threatened it releases a toxic chemical similar to the ant's alarm pheromone. This multi-trait mimicry serves to protectG. agilisboth from ants and (in Batesian mimicry) from ground predators such aswolf spiders.[24][22]

Aggressive mimicry[edit]

Further information:Aggressive mimicry

Aggressive mimicsare predators which resemble ants sufficiently to be able to approach their prey successfully. Some spiders, such as theZodariidaeand those in the genusMyrmarachne,[3]use their disguise to hunt ants. These ant hunters often do not visually resemble ants very closely.[25]Among the many spiders which are aggressive mimics of ants,Aphantochilus rogersimimics its sole prey,Cephalotiniants. Like many other ant-mimicking spiders, it is also a Batesian mimic, gaining protection from predators such asspider-hunting wasps.[26]

  • Aggressive mimicry of ants by spiders. The ant is both the model and the dupe, and it becomes the spider's prey.
    Aggressive mimicry of ants by spiders. The ant is both the model and the dupe, and it becomes the spider's prey.

Special protection for young insects[edit]

Multiple groups of insects have evolved ant mimicry for their young, while their adults are protected in different ways, either beingcamouflagedor have conspicuouswarning coloration.[2][27]

The young instars of some mantids, such asOdontomantis pulchra[28]andTarachodes afzeliiare Batesian mimics of ants. Bigger instars and adults of these mantids are not ant mimics, but are well-camouflaged predators, and in the case ofTarachodes,that eat ants.[29]

Younginstarsof somebush cricketsin the genusMacroxiphus,have an "uncanny resemblance" to ants, extending to their black coloration, remarkably perfect antlike shape, and convincingly antlike behaviour.[2]Their long antennae are camouflaged to appear short, being black only at the base, and they are vibrated like ant antennae. Larger instars suddenly change into typical-looking katydids, and are entirelynocturnal,while the adult has bright warning coloration.[2]

ThephasmidExtatosoma tiaratum,resembling dried thorny leaves as an adult, hatches from the egg as a replica of aLeptomyrmexant, with a red head and black body. The long end is curled to make the body shape appear ant-like, and the movement is erratic, while the adults move differently, if at all. In some species the eggs resembleant-dispersed (myrmecochoric)plant seeds, complete with a mimicoil body(a "capitulum" ). These eggs are collected by the ants, deceived in a different way, and taken to their nests. The capitulum is removed and eaten, leaving the eggs viable.[27]

Taxonomic range[edit]

Ant mimicry has a wide taxonomic range, including some 2000speciesof terrestrialarthropodsin more than 200genera.It has evolved over 70 times, including some 15cladesof spiders, 10 clades of plant-sucking bugs, and 7 clades ofstaphylinidrove beetles. Outside the arthropods, ant mimics include snails, snakes, and flowering plants.[14][13]

Eukaryotes

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

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