Amblyopone silvestrii

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Amblyopone silvestrii
Amblyopone silvestrii casent0102204 dorsal 1.jpg
Amblyopone silvestrii worker
Scientific classification
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A. silvestrii
Binomial name
Amblyopone silvestrii
Wheeler, 1928

Amblyopone silvestrii is a primitive species of ant found in Japan. [1] The species is known for larval hemolymph feeding (LHL), in which the queens stroke older larva with their antennae before piercing them with their mandibles. They then lower their mouth parts to the wound and lick up the hemolymph. Then, they cease movement for several minutes before dropping one or two white infrabuccal pellets while being groomed by worker nestmates who then carry the pellets away. [2]

The queens are not the only vampires in the colony, as all adults will feed on the hemolymph of larvae, but the only source of nutrients the queen receives is the hemolymph of her brood. The brood fed upon are in their fifth instar of their larval stage, the last stage before becoming an adult ant. LHL scars often scars them, whether faintly or boldly, though it does not kill them. In higher ants, injured larvae are cannibalized. A. silvestrii, being a primitive species however, do not kill the injured larvae, unless the colony is starved. In this case, adult ants will cannibalize the most scarred larvae before the faintly scarred ones. [2]

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Larval hemolymph feeding is a behaviour trait found in the queens of some species of ant. This is found mainly in the ants of the subfamily Amblyoponinae and give them the other name of Dracula ant. In colonies of the Amblyopone silvestrii the queens feed on the hemolymph of their larvae when food is not available. This is said to be a precursor to trophallaxis in other ant families. The larvae themselves are not killed by this process. This behaviour is also seen in Proceratium and in Leptanilla the larvae have special organs that exude the haemolymph. are exclusively dependent on the hemolymph of their own larvae as a nutrient, even when prey feeding is possible. On the other hand, the foundresses suppress larval hemolymph feeding (LHF) when prey is available, allowing them to rear the first workers more swiftly. The nondestructive form of cannibalism can be regarded as a nutritive adaptation related to: (1) the lack of social food transfer in this species, and (2) its specialized predation on large sporadic prey (centipedes). LHF similar to that in Amblyopone was found in Proceratium and another type of LHF, with a larval specialized exudatory organ, in Leptanilla.

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References

  1. "Amblyopone silvestrii (Wheeler 1928) - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2020-06-27.
  2. 1 2 Masuko, Keiichi (September 1986). "Larval hemolymph feeding: a nondestructive parental cannibalism in the primitive ant Amblyopone silvestrii Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 19 (4): 249–255. doi:10.1007/BF00300639. ISSN   0340-5443. S2CID   22912705.
A profile view of an A. silvestrii individual Amblyopone silvestrii casent0102204 profile 1.jpg
A profile view of an A. silvestrii individual