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Schär S, Talavera G, Dapporto L, Bruschini C, Dincă V, Beza-Beza C, Wiegmann BM, Taheri A, Pape T, Vila R. Blow fly larvae socially integrate termite nests through morphological and chemical mimicry. Curr Biol 2025; 35:1121-1127.e3. [PMID: 39933515 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2024] [Revised: 12/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/06/2025] [Indexed: 02/13/2025]
Abstract
Nests of ecosystem-dominant eusocial insects like ants and termites offer stable, nutrient-rich, and protected habitats that may be exploited by other organisms. Several arthropod lineages managed to breach nest defenses and become inquilines, mutualists, predators, parasitoids, or social parasites.1,2,3,4 However, achieving social integration requires extreme morphological, behavioral, and physiological adaptations.5 Among flies, only scuttle flies (Phoridae) are well-known social parasites,2 although interactions with termites (predation, scavenging, and putative parasitism) have also been mentioned in anecdotal reports for blow flies (Rhiniinae6,7,8,9,10 and Bengaliinae11,12,13) and flesh flies (Miltogramminae14,15,16). Here, we report a fly larva found to be socially integrated within nests of the termite Anacanthotermes ochraceus (Burmeister) in Morocco. Behavioral, chemical, and morphological analyses show that colony integration, including communication and grooming, is achieved through unique adaptations. The chemical profiles of the fly larvae perfectly match those of the termites at the colony level. Notably, the posterior part of the larvae mimics a termite's head, and the long papillae that imitate the termites' antennae surround the entire body. Based on phylogenomics, we show that the larvae belong to the blow fly genus Rhyncomya (Calliphoridae: Rhiniinae). Our results support the hypothesis that the enigmatic blow fly subfamily Prosthetosomatinae (only known from larvae observed in termite nests17,18,19,20) is Rhiniinae. Thus, we demonstrate that the diverse schizophoran flies evolved social integration independently from the 150-million-year-diverged Phoridae radiation. This discovery sheds light on the repeated evolution of termitophily within the order Diptera. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sämi Schär
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Gerard Talavera
- Institut Botànic de Barcelona (IBB), CSIC-CMCNB, 08038 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Leonardo Dapporto
- Dipartimento di Biologia dell'Università degli studi di Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Claudia Bruschini
- Dipartimento di Biologia dell'Università degli studi di Firenze, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy
| | - Vlad Dincă
- "Grigore Antipa" National Museum of Natural History, 011341 Bucharest, Romania
| | - Cristian Beza-Beza
- Department of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Brian M Wiegmann
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7613, USA
| | - Ahmed Taheri
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of El Jadida, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida 24000, Morocco
| | - Thomas Pape
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Roger Vila
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
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Mera-Rodríguez D, Jourdan H, Ward PS, Shattuck S, Cover SP, Wilson EO, Rabeling C. Biogeography and evolution of social parasitism in Australian Myrmecia bulldog ants revealed by phylogenomics. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2023:107825. [PMID: 37244505 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Studying the historical biogeography and life history transitions from eusocial colony life to social parasitism contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms generating biodiversity in eusocial insects. The ants in the genus Myrmecia are a well-suited system for testing evolutionary hypotheses about how their species diversity was assembled through time because the genus is endemic to Australia with the single exception of the species M. apicalis inhabiting the Pacific Island of New Caledonia, and because at least one social parasite species exists in the genus. However, the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the disjunct biogeographic distribution of M. apicalis and the life history transition(s) to social parasitism remain unexplored. To study the biogeographic origin of the isolated, oceanic species M. apicalis and to reveal the origin and evolution of social parasitism in the genus, we reconstructed a comprehensive phylogeny of the ant subfamily Myrmeciinae. We utilized Ultra Conserved Elements (UCEs) as molecular markers to generate a comprehensive molecular genetic dataset consisting of 2,287 loci per taxon on average for 66 out of the 93 known Myrmecia species as well as for the sister lineage Nothomyrmecia macrops and selected outgroups. Our time-calibrated phylogeny inferred that: (i) stem Myrmeciinae originated during the Paleocene ∼58 Ma ago; (ii) the current disjunct biogeographic distribution of M. apicalis was driven by long-distance dispersal from Australia to New Caledonia during the Miocene ∼14 Ma ago; (iii) the single social parasite species, M. inquilina, evolved directly from one of the two known host species, M. nigriceps, in sympatry via the intraspecific route of social parasite evolution; and (iv) 5 of the 9 previously established taxonomic species groups are non-monophyletic. We suggest minor changes to reconcile the molecular phylogenetic results with the taxonomic classification. Our study enhances our understanding of the evolution and biogeography of Australian bulldog ants, contributes to our knowledge about the evolution of social parasitism in ants, and provides a solid phylogenetic foundation for future inquiries into the biology, taxonomy, and classification of Myrmeciinae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Mera-Rodríguez
- Social Insect Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University. 550 E Orange St., Tempe, AZ 85281, United States of America; Department of Integrative Taxonomy of Insects, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim. Garbenstraße 30, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany; KomBioTa - Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy, University of Hohenheim and State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Hervé Jourdan
- Institute of Research for Development. Promenade Roger Laroque, Nouméa 98848, New Caledonia
| | - Philip S Ward
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States of America
| | - Steven Shattuck
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America
| | - Stefan P Cover
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America
| | - Edward O Wilson
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America
| | - Christian Rabeling
- Social Insect Research Group, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University. 550 E Orange St., Tempe, AZ 85281, United States of America; Department of Integrative Taxonomy of Insects, Institute of Biology, University of Hohenheim. Garbenstraße 30, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany; KomBioTa - Center for Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy, University of Hohenheim and State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Germany; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University. 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States of America.
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Dahan RA, Rabeling C. Multi-queen breeding is associated with the origin of inquiline social parasitism in ants. Sci Rep 2022; 12:14680. [PMID: 36038583 PMCID: PMC9424252 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17595-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Social parasites exploit the brood care behavior of their hosts to raise their own offspring. Social parasites are common among eusocial Hymenoptera and exhibit a wide range of distinct life history traits in ants, bees, and wasps. In ants, obligate inquiline social parasites are workerless (or nearly-so) species that engage in lifelong interactions with their hosts, taking advantage of the existing host worker forces to reproduce and exploit host colonies’ resources. Inquiline social parasites are phylogenetically diverse with approximately 100 known species that evolved at least 40 times independently in ants. Importantly, ant inquilines tend to be closely related to their hosts, an observation referred to as ‘Emery’s Rule’. Polygyny, the presence of multiple egg-laying queens, was repeatedly suggested to be associated with the origin of inquiline social parasitism, either by providing the opportunity for reproductive cheating, thereby facilitating the origin of social parasite species, and/or by making polygynous species more vulnerable to social parasitism via the acceptance of additional egg-laying queens in their colonies. Although the association between host polygyny and the evolution of social parasitism has been repeatedly discussed in the literature, it has not been statistically tested in a phylogenetic framework across the ants. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of ant social structure and social parasitism, testing for an association between polygyny and inquiline social parasitism with a phylogenetic correction for independent evolutionary events. We find an imperfect but significant over-representation of polygynous species among hosts of inquiline social parasites, suggesting that while polygyny is not required for the maintenance of inquiline social parasitism, it (or factors associated with it) may favor the origin of socially parasitic behavior. Our results are consistent with an intra-specific origin model for the evolution of inquiline social parasites by sympatric speciation but cannot exclude the alternative, inter-specific allopatric speciation model. The diversity of social parasite behaviors and host colony structures further supports the notion that inquiline social parasites evolved in parallel across unrelated ant genera in the formicoid clade via independent evolutionary pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romain A Dahan
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
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Iwai H, Mori M, Tomita M, Kono N, Arakawa K. Molecular Evidence of Chemical Disguise by the Socially Parasitic Spiny Ant Polyrhachis lamellidens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) When Invading a Host Colony. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.915517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While most ant species establish a colony independently, some socially parasitic ants build the foundation of their colony by invading other ant (host) colonies and utilizing their labor forces. Many socially parasitic ants disguise their cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile, which is also known as signature mixture for nestmate discrimination, when invading the host colony. Since the strategy of chemical disguise is widespread in socially parasitic ants, elucidating the mechanism of chemical disguise will promote knowledge on the evolutionary history of social parasitism. However, detailed knowledge is still lacking, as the relevant information has only originated from circumstantial evidence, which was obtained from ecological observations. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of chemical disguise in a new queen of a temporary socially parasitic spiny ant (Polyrhachis lamellidens) by measuring its CHC profile, performing a tracing assay with labeled substances, and analyzing gene expression levels. First, after rubbing behavior was observed against the host workers, the CHC profile in P. lamellidens shifted to pronounced peaks that closely resembling that of the host workers. We also observed a reduction in aggressive behaviors by the host ant against P. lamellidens after rubbing behavior was performed. In addition, P. lamellidens acquired artificially-applied labeling substances from host workers through their rubbing behaviors, while gene expression profiling showed the expression of CHC synthesis-related genes did not change during this behavior. These results suggest that P. lamellidens directly obtains host CHCs through rubbing behavior, and these host CHCs enables P. lamellidens to remain disguised during colony invasion.
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Naragon TH, Wagner JM, Parker J. Parallel evolutionary paths of rove beetle myrmecophiles: replaying a deep-time tape of life. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 51:100903. [PMID: 35301166 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2022.100903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The rise of ants over the past ~100 million years reshaped the biosphere, presenting ecological challenges for many organisms, but also opportunities. No insect group has been so adept at exploiting niches inside ant colonies as the rove beetles (Staphylinidae) - a global clade of>64,000 predominantly free-living predators from which numerous socially parasitic 'myrmecophile' lineages have emerged. Myrmecophilous staphylinids are specialized for colony life through changes in behavior, chemistry, anatomy, and life history that are often strikingly convergent, and hence potentially adaptive for this symbiotic way of life. Here, we examine how the interplay between ecological pressures and molecular, cellular, and neurobiological mechanisms shape the evolutionary trajectories of symbiotic lineages in this ancient, convergent system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas H Naragon
- Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, USA; Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Julian M Wagner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - Joseph Parker
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA, USA.
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Salata S, Fisher BL. Taxonomic revision of the Pheidole megacephala species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Malagasy Region. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13263. [PMID: 35497190 PMCID: PMC9053301 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The Malagasy Region, one of the top megadiversity regions, hosts one of the highest numbers of endemic and threatened organisms on earth. One of the most spectacular examples of ant radiation on the island has occurred in the hyperdiverse genus Pheidole. To this date, there are 135 described Madagascan Pheidole divided into 16 species-groups, and 97% of Malagasy species are endemic to the island. This study is a taxonomic revision of the Pheidole megacephala group, one of only two species-groups comprising a combination of native, endemic taxa and widely distributed introduced species. Methods The diversity of the Malagasy members of the megacephala group was assessed via application of qualitative morphological and DNA sequence data. Qualitative, external morphological characteristics (e.g., head shape, gaster sculpture, body colouration) were evaluated in order to create a priori grouping hypotheses, and confirm and improve species delimitation. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene fragments were analyzed to test the putative species previously delimited by morphological analyses. Results We recognize three species belonging to the megacephala group: P. megacephala (Fabricius, 1793), P. megatron Fischer & Fisher, 2013 and P. spinosa Forel, 1891 stat. nov. Pheidole spinosa is redescribed and elevated to the species level. The following names are recognized as junior synonyms of P. spinosa: P. megacephala scabrior Forel, 1891 syn. nov., P. picata Forel, 1891 syn. nov., P. picata gietleni Forel, 1905 syn. nov., P. picata bernhardae Emery, 1915 syn. nov., and P. decepticon Fischer & Fisher, 2013 syn. nov. The results are supplemented with an identification key to species for major workers of the megacephala group, high-resolution images for major and minor workers, and comments on the distribution and biology of all Malagasy members of the group. Our study revealed that Pheidole megacephala, a species listed among the 100 worst invasive species worldwide, occurs in both natural and disturbed sites in the Malagasy region. The two remaining members of the megacephala group, most likely endemic to this region, are also present in anthropogenic habitats and often co-occur with P. megacephala. It appears that the Malagasy members of the group are generalists and dominant in anthropogenic habitats. Additionally, we documented the presence of supermajors in colonies of P. spinosa-a phenomenon previously not known for this group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Salata
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA, USA,Myrmecological Laboratory, Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Lower Silesia, Poland
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von Beeren C, Brückner A, Hoenle PO, Ospina-Jara B, Kronauer DJC, Blüthgen N. Multiple phenotypic traits as triggers of host attacks towards ant symbionts: body size, morphological gestalt, and chemical mimicry accuracy. Front Zool 2021; 18:46. [PMID: 34538256 PMCID: PMC8451089 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00427-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ant colonies are plagued by a diversity of arthropod guests, which adopt various strategies to avoid or to withstand host attacks. Chemical mimicry of host recognition cues is, for example, a common integration strategy of ant guests. The morphological gestalt and body size of ant guests have long been argued to also affect host hostility, but quantitative studies testing these predictions are largely missing. We here evaluated three guest traits as triggers of host aggression—body size, morphological gestalt, and accuracy in chemical mimicry—in a community of six Eciton army ant species and 29 guest species. We quantified ant aggression towards 314 guests in behavioral assays and, for the same individuals, determined their body size and their accuracy in mimicking ant cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles. We classified guests into the following gestalts: protective, myrmecoid, staphylinid-like, phorid-like, and larval-shaped. We expected that (1) guests with lower CHC mimicry accuracy are more frequently attacked; (2) larger guests are more frequently attacked; (3) guests of different morphological gestalt receive differing host aggression levels. Results Army ant species had distinct CHC profiles and accuracy of mimicking these profiles was variable among guests, with many species showing high mimicry accuracy. Unexpectedly, we did not find a clear relationship between chemical host similarity and host aggression, suggesting that other symbiont traits need to be considered. We detected a relationship between the guests’ body size and the received host aggression, in that diminutive forms were rarely attacked. Our data also indicated that morphological gestalt might be a valuable predictor of host aggression. While most ant-guest encounters remained peaceful, host behavior still differed towards guests in that ant aggression was primarily directed towards those guests possessing a protective or a staphylinid-like gestalt. Conclusion We demonstrate that CHC mimicry accuracy does not necessarily predict host aggression towards ant symbionts. Exploitation mechanisms are diverse, and we conclude that, besides chemical mimicry, other factors such as the guests’ morphological gestalt and especially their body size might be important, yet underrated traits shaping the level of host hostility against social insect symbionts. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12983-021-00427-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christoph von Beeren
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Adrian Brückner
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA
| | - Philipp O Hoenle
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | - Daniel J C Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks, Department of Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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Inclusivity is key to progressing coral biodiversity research: Reply to comment by Bonito et al. (2021). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2021; 162:107135. [PMID: 33684528 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Trible W, Kronauer DJ. Hourglass Model for Developmental Evolution of Ant Castes. Trends Ecol Evol 2021; 36:100-103. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Degueldre F, Mardulyn P, Kuhn A, Pinel A, Karaman C, Lebas C, Schifani E, Bračko G, Wagner HC, Kiran K, Borowiec L, Passera L, Abril S, Espadaler X, Aron S. Evolutionary history of inquiline social parasitism in Plagiolepis ants. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2020; 155:107016. [PMID: 33242582 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.107016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Social parasitism, i.e. the parasitic dependence of a social species on another free-living social species, is one of the most intriguing phenomena in social insects. It has evolved to various levels, the most extreme form being inquiline social parasites which have lost the worker caste, and produce only male and female sexual offspring that are reared by the host worker force. The inquiline syndrome has been reported in 4 species within the ant genus Plagiolepis, in Europe. Whether inquiline social parasitism evolved once or multiple times within the genus remains however unknown. To address this question, we generated data for 5 inquiline social parasites - 3 species previously described and 2 unidentified species - and their free-living hosts from Europe, and we inferred their phylogenetic relationships. We tested Emery's rule, which predicts that inquiline social parasites and their hosts are close relatives. Our results show that inquiline parasitism evolved independently at least 5 times in the genus. Furthermore, we found that all inquilines were associated with one of the descendants of their most related free-living species, suggesting sympatric speciation is the main process leading to the emergence of the parasitic species, consistent with the stricter version of Emery's rule.
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Affiliation(s)
- Félicien Degueldre
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Patrick Mardulyn
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexandre Kuhn
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Amélie Pinel
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Celal Karaman
- Trakya University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Balkan Campus, 22030 Edirne, Turkey
| | | | - Enrico Schifani
- Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences & Environmental Sustainability, Parco Area delle Scienze, 11/a, University of Parma, I-43124 Parma, Italy
| | - Gregor Bračko
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Herbert C Wagner
- ÖKOTEAM - Institute for Animal Ecology and Landscape Planning, Bergmanngasse 22, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Kadri Kiran
- Trakya University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Balkan Campus, 22030 Edirne, Turkey
| | - Lech Borowiec
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
| | - Luc Passera
- Université Paul Sabatier de Toulouse, France
| | - Sílvia Abril
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Girona, M. Aurèlia Campmany, 69, 17003 Girona, Spain
| | - Xavier Espadaler
- CREAF, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Serge Aron
- Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
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Abstract
Ants exploit differences in body surface chemistry to distinguish nestmates from colony intruders. Socially parasitic ants in Madagascar have convergently evolved morphological similarities to host worker anatomy, implying that body shape may also be surveilled. Studies of tactile behaviors in ant societies are now needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Parker
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
| | - Christian Rabeling
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
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