Rossomyrmex

Last updated

Rossomyrmex
Rossomyrmex proformicarum casent0178514 profile 1.jpg
R. proformicarum worker from Russia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Formicidae
Subfamily:
Formicinae
Tribe:
Formicini
Genus:
Rossomyrmex

Arnol'di, 1928
Type species
Rossomyrmex proformicarum
Arnol'di, 1928
Diversity [1]
4 species

Rossomyrmex is a genus of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. [2] The genus consists of four species, each with a single host from the genus Proformica , and has a very wide range of distribution from China to southeastern Spain, from huge extended plains to the top of high mountains. [3]

Contents

Species

Distribution

The Asian parasite-host pairs live mostly in extended plains whereas the Spanish pair R. minuchae–P. longiseta inhabits the top of three high mountains in southern Spain. [4] Despite this apparent difference in habitat (extended plains versus high mountains), the abiotic conditions are quite similar and are consistent with a typical arid steppe. However, the main difference comes from the fact that the Spanish populations are small and are geographically isolated from each other. [5]

Slave-making

Rossomyrmex is one of two obligate slave-making genera in the subfamily Formicinae, the other being Polyergus . [3] Both genera evolved slave-making behavior independently and are close phylogenetic relatives. [6] However, they are more closely related to the genera they parasitize than to each other, [6] and Rossomyrmex is more closely related to Cataglyphis than to Polyergus. [7]

Parasite–host pairs

Each parasite species has a single host from the genus Proformica, thus forming unique coevolving pairs: [5]

Raids

Parasitized nests need to replenish the host workers periodically, and this is done by raiding. The standard process is that after finding a new host nest to invade, the parasite worker marks the way to its nest with pheromones, and afterward fellow slave-makers begin to attract in a few seconds. Then they go quickly to the targeted host nest, attack it, and carry as many larvae and pupae as possible and return to their nest following the same trail marked by the pheromone. Workers of the attacked nest can fight or flee although, in Proformica, the most common behavior is flight probably because hosts always lose fights. Rossomyrmex is the only reported slave-maker that exclusively uses adult transport and single recruitment chain instead of pheromones during raids. This behavior is probably constrained by the arid habitat: raids take place in early summer when soil surface temperature can reach up to 30 °C, a temperature for which pheromones would quickly evaporate. This condition imposes that Rossomyrmex raids appear as less efficient than those carried out with pheromones; this, together with the usually flee behavior of the Proformica hosts permits the survival of several attacked nests. [8] Finally, another important difference in the raiding behavior of Rossomyrmex is that the return to the parasite nest with the robbed brood takes place on the following day of the assault instead of later in the same day. [8] [9]

Reproduction

The reproductive behavior of slave-making ants usually consists in synchronous emergence of sexuals followed by a nuptial flight and the invasion of a host nest, [10] but also in some cases females display a mating call around the natal nest to attract males and immediately after mating search for a host nest to usurp. However, the reproductive strategy of Rossomyrmex greatly differs from the one described above. Males and females emerge from the natal nest at a different time during the day and males always fly away short after their emergence. [11] Virgin females of Rossomyrmex show a typical mating call behavior near the natal nest but due to the scarce number of nests and that sexuals are not produced every year in all nests, some females remain virgin and cannot produce new nests despite performing sexual calling chorus for several days. [12] When a male arrives at a female-calling nest, he will mate to as many females as possible, being one of the few cases known of polygamous males in ants, especially when mating occurs out of the nest. [11] In contrast, females are strictly monandrous although there are some reported cases of multiply mated queens. [4] Females recently mated always run to hide in their natal nest after the first copulation and do not seek for subsequent mating. This reproductive behavior seems to be constrained by the low production of sexuals, especially males (which gives advantage to female-calling behavior rather than nuptial flights and multiple mating by males). [11]

Newly mated queens search for a host nest to invade and they are unchallenged by host workers and queens thanks to the repellent effect of the Dufour's gland that they have highly inflated before the usurpation. After taking over the host nest by killing the resident queens, the size of this gland decreases. [13] This strategy to invade a host nest contrasts with other extended strategy consisting in newly mated queens embarking in a slave raid with workers, which would facilitate the penetration of the host nest immersed in chaos. [8]

In the Proformica-Rossomyrmex system, dispersal ability is quite different for host and parasite species. Proformica is generally polygynous (multiple queen colonies) with wingless queens that found new nests by budding; therefore they are likely to show restricted dispersal and strong population structure, while Rossomyrmex is monogynous (single queen colonies), with both sexes winged and show independent colony founding. [8]

Related Research Articles

Ant Family of insects

Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants appear in the fossil record across the globe in considerable diversity during the latest Early Cretaceous and early Late Cretaceous, suggesting an earlier origin. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period, and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists.

Trophallaxis

Trophallaxis is the transfer of food or other fluids among members of a community through mouth-to-mouth (stomodeal) or anus-to-mouth (proctodeal) feeding. Along with nutrients, trophallaxis can involve the transfer of molecules such as pheromones, organisms such as symbionts, and information to serve as a form of communication. Trophallaxis is used by some birds, gray wolves, vampire bats, and is most highly developed in social insects such as ants, wasps, bees, and termites.

Formicinae Subfamily of ants

The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.

<i>Formica cunicularia</i> Species of ant

Formica cunicularia is a species of ant found all over Europe. They are especially common in western Europe and southern England, but they can be found from southern Scandinavia to northern Africa and from Portugal to the Urals. In England, Donisthorpe records the species as having occurred as far north as Bewdley in Worcestershire. In Formica cunicularia, the worker is an ashy grey black color and is usually 4.0–6.5 mm long. The males are found to have a uniformly dark body and are 8.0–9.0 mm long. The queen is yellowish red to dark black and is 7.5–9.0 mm.

<i>Myrmecia</i> (ant) Genus of ants

Myrmecia is a genus of ants first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. The genus is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. Myrmecia is a large genus of ants, comprising at least 93 species that are found throughout Australia and its coastal islands, while a single species is only known from New Caledonia. One species has been introduced out of its natural distribution and was found in New Zealand in 1940, but the ant was last seen in 1981. These ants are commonly known as "bull ants", "bulldog ants" or "jack jumper" ants, and are also associated with many other common names. They are characterized by their extreme aggressiveness, ferocity, and painful stings. Some species are known for the jumping behavior they exhibit when agitated.

Army ant Name used for several ant species

The name army ant (or legionary ant or marabunta) is applied to over 200 ant species in different lineages. Because of their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", a huge number of ants forage simultaneously over a limited area.

<i>Harpagoxenus sublaevis</i> Species of ant

Harpagoxenus sublaevis is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is found in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

<i>Polyergus breviceps</i> Species of ant

Polyergus breviceps is a species of ant endemic to the United States. It is a social parasite of other ants, namely of Formica gnava but also of Formica occulta and Formica argentea. Polyergus is an inquiline parasite, having lost its ability to take care of its young and themselves. "The workers do not forage for food, feed the young or the queen, or even clean up their own nest". To survive, Polyergus workers raid Formica nests to steal the pupae—which, once hatched, become workers of the mixed nest. This sort of relationship is not unique, of the approximately 8,800 species of ants, at least 200 have evolved some form of symbiotic relationship with one another. What makes Polyergus special is the way a newly mated queen can, all by herself, take over a Formica nest and start a new colony.

<i>Polyergus samurai</i> Species of ant

Polyergus samurai is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae.

<i>Formica sanguinea</i> Species of ant

Formica sanguinea, or blood-red ant, is a species of facultative slave-maker ant in the genus Formica characterized by the ability to secrete formic acid. It ranges from Central and Northern Europe through Russia to Japan, China, the Korean Peninsula, Africa and also the United States. This species is coloured red and black with workers up to 7 mm long.

Eusociality Highest level of animal sociality a species can attain

Eusociality, the highest level of organization of sociality, is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative brood care, overlapping generations within a colony of adults, and a division of labor into reproductive and non-reproductive groups. The division of labor creates specialized behavioral groups within an animal society which are sometimes referred to as 'castes'. Eusociality is distinguished from all other social systems because individuals of at least one caste usually lose the ability to perform at least one behavior characteristic of individuals in another caste.

<i>Solenopsis saevissima</i> Species of ant

Solenopsis saevissima, commonly known in Brazil as formiga de fogo, formiga-vermelha, or formiga-lava-pes, is one of more than 185 species in the genus Solenopsis. It, along with 13 other species, is also a member of the Solenopsis saevissima species group which are popularly known as fire ants.

<i>Leptothorax acervorum</i> Species of ant

Leptothorax acervorum is a small brown to yellow ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. L. acervorum is vastly distributed across the globe, most commonly found in the coniferous forests of Central, Western and Northern Europe. The morphology of L. acervorum is extremely similar to that of other Leptothorax ants. The difference arises in the two-toned appearance of L. acervorum, with the head and metasoma being darker than the mesosoma segment of the body, and hair across its body. Following Bergmann's rule—unusually, for ectothermic animals—body size increases with latitude.

<i>Formica truncorum</i> Species of ant

Formica truncorum is a species of wood ant from the genus Formica. It is distributed across a variety of locations worldwide, including central Europe and Japan. Workers can range from 3.5 to 9.0mm and are uniquely characterized by small hairs covering their entire bodies. Like all other ants, F. truncorum is eusocial and demonstrates many cooperative behaviors that are unique to its order. Colonies are either monogynous, with one queen, or polygynous, with many queens, and these two types of colonies differ in many characteristics.

<i>Temnothorax</i> Genus of ants

Temnothorax is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains more than 350 species.

<i>Proformica</i> Genus of ants

Proformica is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is known from the Palearctic realm, from Mongolia through Central Asia to Spain. Colonies are small, generally containing a few hundred individuals, with a single queen (monogyne) or multiple ergatogyne queens. Unique in the tribe Formicini, some species have specialized workers gorged with food; they function as living storage containers.

Slave-making ant Species of ants that steal young ants of another species to contribute to their colony

Slave-making ants are brood parasites that capture broods 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, while parasite workers only concentrate on replenishing the labor force from neighboring host nests, a process called slave raiding.

<i>Polyergus rufescens</i> Species of ant

Polyergus rufescens is a species of slave-making ant native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, commonly referred to as the European Amazon ant or as the slave-making ant. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after the colony and reliant on ants of another species to undertake these tasks. To replenish these servant ants, it raids nearby ant colonies and carries home pupae and larvae, and these are reared to provide future workers for the colony. A newly mated female P. rufescens needs to make its way into one of these "host" nests, kill the host queen, and be accepted by the host workers in her place.

<i>Polyergus mexicanus</i> Species of ant

Polyergus mexicanus is a species of slave-making ant in the subfamily Formicinae. It is the most widely distributed species of Polyergus in North America. It is an obligatory social parasite, unable to feed itself or look after the colony and reliant on ants of another species, Formica, to undertake these tasks. The parasitic ants are known as "dulotics" and the ants they parasitise are known as "hosts".

This is a glossary of terms used in the descriptions of ants.

References

  1. ↑ Bolton, B. (2014). "Rossomyrmex". AntCat. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "Genus: Rossomyrmex". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. 1 2 Ruano et al. 2013, p. 1
  4. 1 2 Sanllorente et al. 2010, p. 1702
  5. 1 2 Ruano et al. 2013, pp. 1–2
  6. 1 2 Goropashnaya et al. 2012, p. 6
  7. ↑ Hasegawa, Tinaut & Ruano 2002, p. 270
  8. 1 2 3 4 Ruano et al. 2013, p. 3
  9. ↑ Ruano & Tinaut 1999, p. 245
  10. ↑ Mori, D'Ettorre & Le Moli 1994, p. 203
  11. 1 2 3 Ruano et al. 2013, pp. 2–3
  12. ↑ Ruano & Tinaut 2005, pp. 229–330
  13. ↑ Ruano et al. 2005, p. 1160
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.