DOCSLIB.ORG

Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) Fr

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) Fr ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY Volume 6, 1–31, 2014 ISSN 1985-1944 © RUDOLF J. KOHOUT A review of the subgenus Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae) with keys and description of a new species RUDOLF J. KOHOUT Biodiversity Program, Queensland Museum, PO Box 3300, South Brisbane, Qld 4101, Australia Corresponding author's e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT. The nominal subgenus Polyrhachis of the genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith is reviewed. Eleven species of the subgenus are recognised, including ten previously described (Polyrhachis bellicosa Fr. Smith, P. bihamata (Drury), P. craddocki Bingham, P. erosispina Emery, P. olybria Forel, P. lamelidens Fr. Smith, P. mindanaensis Emery, P. montana Hung, P. taylori Kohout and P. ypsilon Emery) and one, P. maliau, described as new. The worker and the queen of P. bellicosa and the worker of P. erosispina are redescribed and a case of apparent character displacement between these species is noted. The worker of P. olybria and queens of P. mindanaensis and P. ypsilon are described. A key to the species of the subgenus is provided and all species, including the known queens, are illustrated. Keywords. Formicidae, Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis), taxonomy, new species INTRODUCTION on the presence (lamellidens-group) or absence (bihamata-group) of lateral mesosomal margins. The name Polyrhachis was first used for a He recognised three species and three subspecies group of ants by Shuckhard (in Swainson & in the bihamata-group and two species in the Shuckhard, 1840, p. 172), however, no diagnosis lamellidens-group. for the genus was provided and no species were The subgenus Polyrhachis was first assigned to it, making the name unavailable revised by Hung (1970), who considered it the under their authorship. The genus Polyrhachis “best-defined group” of the genus, following was established by Frederick Smith (1857, p. his earlier opinion that the subgenus “may be a 58) with Formica bihamata Drury, 1773 as the good genus by itself” (Hung, 1967). He listed type species. Polyrhachis was first used as a four main characters distinguishing it from subgeneric name, i.e. Myrma (Polyrhachis), by other Polyrhachis subgenera, including the Wheeler (1911) (see Dorow, Kohout & Taylor, presence of both pronotal and mesonotal spines, 1997) for P. bihamata (Drury) and the “small a columnar petiole with a pair of hook-shaped cohort of allied species” (P. bellicosa Fr. Smith, spines (quite similar to that in P. (Myrmhopla) P. ypsilon Emery, P. craddocki Bingham and P. furcata Fr. Smith) and the presence of a median lamellidens Fr. Smith), thus essentially replacing ocellus in workers of some species (P. ypsilon, P. the “cohors Polyrhachides hamatae” established bihamata and P. bellicosa). The fourth character, earlier by Emery (1896). However, it was not the markedly different appearance of queens until more than a decade later that Emery (1925) and workers of the same species, contrasts with provided a basic diagnosis for the subgenus the general similarity of workers and queens in and divided it into two species-groups based species of the other subgenera of Polyrhachis. 2 Rudolf J. Kohout Polyrhachis, notably P. bellicosa, but considered olybria were conspecific with the workers earlier it to be a chaotic conglomerate of individual misidentified asP. bellicosa by Forel and correctly and local variants “without any stable type to be placed them in the subgenus Polyrhachis. followed”. He provided a substantial account on the variability of several species, based mainly on the calculation of taxonomic distance (sensu METHODS Sokal, 1961), and recognised P. bellicosa as the only valid species in New Guinea. Hung (1970) Publication dates and spelling of species epithets also described a new species, P. montana, from and author’s names follow Bolton et al. (2007). Borneo and raised the former subspecies P. This study is principally based on the worker bihamata mindanaensis to specific status. He caste but diagnoses and notes are provided on the synonymised all the other previously described queens of most species. infraspecific taxa, thus reducing the number of Images of specimens were taken with a the bona fide members of the subgenus to seven. digital camera attached to a stereomicroscope and Following a visit to New Guinea and processed using Auto-Montage (Syncroscopy, the islands of Bismarck Archipelago in 1984, Division of Synoptics Ltd, USA) and Adobe CS2 Kohout (1988) reviewed the New Guinean and (Adobe Systems Inc, USA) software. Images of Australian species of the subgenus. He removed P. maliau are of the holotype, while those of P. P. bellicosa erosispina from synonymy with P. montana and P. taylori are of syntypes. Images bellicosa and raised it to specific status based on of the remaining species are of type-compared an apparent case of character displacement (see voucher specimens. Photographs were taken by Brown & Wilson, 1956; Kohout, 1988) between Dr Steve O. Shattuck (ANIC) and Hans Peter the species. He considered the species closely Katzmann (UUUG). similar and apparently derived from the same Measurements and indices follow those ancestral stock. He stated that “at localities where of Kohout (2008) with some additions: TL = Total they are sympatric, morphological and ecological length (the necessarily composite measurement of differences are somewhat accentuated and the outstretched length of the entire ant measured more distinct than those observed in allopatric in profile); HL = Head length (the maximum situations, in which distinctions can become very measurable length of the head in perfect full tenuous” (Kohout, 1988). With special attention face view measured from the anterior-most point given to the location of their nests, the previously of the clypeal border or teeth, to the posterior- unknown association of workers and queens was most point of the occipital margin); HW = Head established for both species and for the newly width (width of the head in perfect full face view, described P. taylori. measured immediately in front of the eyes); CI = As already indicated by Hung (1970), Cephalic index (HW × 100/HL); SL = Scape length within the subgenus Polyrhachis queens are (excluding the condyle); SI = Scape index (SL × very different to the workers of the same species 100/HW); PW = Pronotal width (greatest width of and, as a result of their dissimilarity, queens of the pronotal dorsum); MTL = Metathoracic tibial many species were, until more recently, virtually length (maximum measurable length of the tibia unknown or misidentified. A classic example is of the hind leg); PeH = Petiolar height (measured that of P. olybria Forel, described in 1912 from from the petiolar spiracle to the tangent point of two queens. Despite having both queen and the petiolar hook in lateral view); PI = Petiolar worker specimens within the single original index (PeH × 100/HL). All measurements were series, collected by Tritschler at Indrapura on taken using a Zeiss SR stereomicroscope with Sumatra, Forel not only considered the workers an eyepiece graticule calibrated against a stage to represent P. bellicosa, but described the queens micrometer. All measurements are expressed in as a separate species, P. olybria. Later, Emery millimetres (mm). (1925) erroneously placed P. olybria into the subgenus Myrmhopla Forel. Kohout (1998) Abbreviations used in specimen data are: Agric. finally recognised that the syntype queens of P. – Agricultural; c. – circa; Cons. – Conservation; 1 - AM 6 - A review ot the subgenus Polyrhachis.indd 2 02-Jun-14 10:50:19 AM A review of the subgenus Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) Fr. Smith 3 Distr. – District; Exp. – Expedition; fog. – fogging; Queensland Museum, Brisbane, Qld, Australia For. – Forest; Gn. – Gunung (= Mountain); Govt. – (Dr C.J. Burwell); SDEI – Senckenberg Deutsches Government; Kg – Kampung (= village); KBFSC Entomologisches Institut, Müncheberg, Germany – Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre; Mt. – (Dr A. Taeger); SMFG – Forschungsinstitut Mountain; Mts – Mountains; Nat. – Natural; NP Senckenberg, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (Dr – National Park; nr – near; Pen. – Peninsula; Pk W.H.O. Dorow); UUUG – Universität Ulm, Ulm, – Park; Pltn – Plantation; Pref. – Prefecture Prov. Germany (H.P. Katzmann). – Province; Pt – Point; Ra. – Range; Rd – Road; Res. – Reserve; Riv. – River; rf. – rainforest; Sg. – Sungai (= River); Stn – Station; w – worker/s; SYSTEMATICS WS – Wildlife Sanctuary. Genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith, 1857 Names of most frequently listed collectors are abbreviated as follows: JLG – J.L. Gressitt; Polyrhachis Fr. Smith, 1857: 58. Type species: NLHK – N.L.H. Krauss; RJK – R.J. Kohout; Formica bihamata Drury, 1773, by RWT – R.W. Taylor; TCM – T.C. Maa; WHOD original designation. – W.H.O. Dorow. Subgenus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith, 1857 Institutions and depositories (with the names of cooperating curators) are: ANIC – Polyrhachis Fr. Smith; Wheeler, 1911: 859 (as Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO, subgenus of Myrma Billberg). Type Canberra, ACT, Australia (Dr S.O. Shattuck); species: Polyrhachis bihamata (Drury) BMNH – The Natural History Museum, (by subsequent designation). London, UK (S. Ryder); BPBM – Bernice P. Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) Fr. Smith; Wheeler, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (K.T. 1922: 257 (as subgenus of Polyrhachis Arakaki); BZUW – Biozentrum Am Hubland, Fr. Smith). University Würzburg, Germany (Dr Andreas Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) Fr. Smith; Emery, Floren); CASC – California Academy of 1925: 181 (diagnosis of the
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Toxicological Characteristics of Edible Insects in China: a Historical Review
    Accepted Manuscript Toxicological characteristics of edible insects in China: A historical review Yu Gao, Di Wang, Meng-Lei Xu, Shu-Sen Shi, Jin-Feng Xiong PII: S0278-6915(18)30218-7 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2018.04.016 Reference: FCT 9705 To appear in: Food and Chemical Toxicology Received Date: 26 January 2018 Revised Date: 1 April 2018 Accepted Date: 7 April 2018 Please cite this article as: Gao, Y., Wang, D., Xu, M.-L., Shi, S.-S., Xiong, J.-F., Toxicological characteristics of edible insects in China: A historical review, Food and Chemical Toxicology (2018), doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2018.04.016. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 1 2 Toxicological Characteristics of Edible Insects in China: A historical review 3 Yu Gao a, Di Wang a, Meng-Lei Xu b*, Shu-Sen Shi a* , Jin-Feng Xiong c 4 5 a College of Agriculture, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, P. R. 6 China 7 b State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Jilin University, 8 Changchun, 130000, P. R. China 9 c Changchun Institute of Biological Products Co. Ltd., Changchun, 130012, P. R.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to the Ants of Sabangau
    A Guide to the Ants of Sabangau The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project November 2014 A Guide to the Ants of Sabangau All original text, layout and illustrations are by Stijn Schreven (e-mail: [email protected]), supple- mented by quotations (with permission) from taxonomic revisions or monographs by Donat Agosti, Barry Bolton, Wolfgang Dorow, Katsuyuki Eguchi, Shingo Hosoishi, John LaPolla, Bernhard Seifert and Philip Ward. The guide was edited by Mark Harrison and Nicholas Marchant. All microscopic photography is from Antbase.net and AntWeb.org, with additional images from Andrew Walmsley Photography, Erik Frank, Stijn Schreven and Thea Powell. The project was devised by Mark Harrison and Eric Perlett, developed by Eric Perlett, and coordinated in the field by Nicholas Marchant. Sample identification, taxonomic research and fieldwork was by Stijn Schreven, Eric Perlett, Benjamin Jarrett, Fransiskus Agus Harsanto, Ari Purwanto and Abdul Azis. Front cover photo: Workers of Polyrhachis (Myrma) sp., photographer: Erik Frank/ OuTrop. Back cover photo: Sabangau forest, photographer: Stijn Schreven/ OuTrop. © 2014, The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project. All rights reserved. Email [email protected] Website www.outrop.com Citation: Schreven SJJ, Perlett E, Jarrett BJM, Harsanto FA, Purwanto A, Azis A, Marchant NC, Harrison ME (2014). A Guide to the Ants of Sabangau. The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project, Palangka Raya, Indonesia. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of OuTrop’s partners or sponsors. The Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project is registered in the UK as a non-profit organisation (Company No. 06761511) and is supported by the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Trust (UK Registered Charity No.
    [Show full text]
  • THE TRUE ARMY ANTS of the INDO-AUSTRALIAN AREA (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae)
    Pacific Insects 6 (3) : 427483 November 10, 1964 THE TRUE ARMY ANTS OF THE INDO-AUSTRALIAN AREA (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae) By Edward O. Wilson BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES, HARVARD UNIVERSITY, CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. S. A. Abstract: All of the known Indo-Australian species of Dorylinae, 4 in Dorylus and 34 in Aenictus, are included in this revision. Eight of the Aenictus species are described as new: artipus, chapmani, doryloides, exilis, huonicus, nganduensis, philiporum and schneirlai. Phylo­ genetic and numerical analyses resulted in the discarding of two extant subgenera of Aenictus (Typhlatta and Paraenictus) and the loose clustering of the species into 5 informal " groups" within the unified genus Aenictus. A consistency test for phylogenetic characters is discussed. The African and Indo-Australian doryline species are compared, and available information in the biology of the Indo-Australian species is summarized. The " true " army ants are defined here as equivalent to the subfamily Dorylinae. Not included are species of Ponerinae which have developed legionary behavior independently (see Wilson, E. O., 1958, Evolution 12: 24-31) or the subfamily Leptanillinae, which is very distinct and may be independent in origin. The Dorylinae are not as well developed in the Indo-Australian area as in Africa and the New World tropics. Dorylus itself, which includes the famous driver ants, is centered in Africa and sends only four species into tropical Asia. Of these, the most widespread reaches only to Java and the Celebes. Aenictus, on the other hand, is at least as strongly developed in tropical Asia and New Guinea as it is in Africa, with 34 species being known from the former regions and only about 15 from Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Borowiec Et Al-2020 Ants – Phylogeny and Classification
    A Ants: Phylogeny and 1758 when the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné Classification published the tenth edition of his catalog of all plant and animal species known at the time. Marek L. Borowiec1, Corrie S. Moreau2 and Among the approximately 4,200 animals that he Christian Rabeling3 included were 17 species of ants. The succeeding 1University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA two and a half centuries have seen tremendous 2Departments of Entomology and Ecology & progress in the theory and practice of biological Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, classification. Here we provide a summary of the NY, USA current state of phylogenetic and systematic 3Social Insect Research Group, Arizona State research on the ants. University, Tempe, AZ, USA Ants Within the Hymenoptera Tree of Ants are the most ubiquitous and ecologically Life dominant insects on the face of our Earth. This is believed to be due in large part to the cooperation Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, which also allowed by their sociality. At the time of writing, includes wasps and bees. ▶ Eusociality, or true about 13,500 ant species are described and sociality, evolved multiple times within the named, classified into 334 genera that make up order, with ants as by far the most widespread, 17 subfamilies (Fig. 1). This diversity makes the abundant, and species-rich lineage of eusocial ants the world’s by far the most speciose group of animals. Within the Hymenoptera, ants are part eusocial insects, but ants are not only diverse in of the ▶ Aculeata, the clade in which the ovipos- terms of numbers of species.
    [Show full text]
  • New Middle Eocene Formicid Species from Germany and the Evolution of Weaver Ants
    New middle Eocene formicid species from Germany and the evolution of weaver ants GENNADY M. DLUSSKY, TORSTEN WAPPLER, and SONJA WEDMANN Dlussky, G.M., Wappler, T., and Wedmann, S. 2008. New middle Eocene formicid species from Germany and the evolu− tion of weaver ants. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53 (4): 615–626. Two new species of weaver ant are described from the Eocene of Germany. Males and gynes of Oecophylla longiceps Dlussky sp. nov. are found in the middle Eocene (about 47 Ma) of Grube Messel, Germany. Males, gynes and two work− ers of O. eckfeldiana Dlussky sp. nov. are recorded from the middle Eocene (about 43 Ma) of Eckfeld maar, Germany. The two new species are among the oldest records of the extant genus Oecophylla. First adaptations for moving in the for− est canopy are present in the workers of O. eckfeldiana. Even more specialized adaptations for arboreal life are found in the workers of O. brischkei from Baltic amber. The coexistence of two species in Baltic amber and in the Bembridge marls suggests that in these cases different ecological niches were realised by sympatric species. Comparisons of the queens from different fossil and extant species indicate morphological trends, partly connected with increasing fertility. Most likely Oecophylla originated in the early Paleogene in the Palaearctic realm, radiating strongly during the climatic changes of the Eocene–Oligocene transition. Key words: Insecta, Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Oecophylla, Eocene, Paleogene, Messel, Eckfeld. Gennady M. Dlussky [[email protected]], Moskovskij gosudarstvennyj universitet imeni M.V. Lomonosova; Biolo− gicheskij fakul'tet Vorobjovy gory, 119992, Moskva, Russia; Torsten Wappler [twappler@uni−bonn.de], Steinmann Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Universität Bonn, Nussallee 8, D−53115 Bonn, Germany; Sonja Wedmann [[email protected]], Forschungsstation Grube Messel, Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Markstr.
    [Show full text]
  • A Preliminary Study of Nest Structure and Composition of the Weaver Ant Polyrhachis (Cyrtomyrma) Delecta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 2016 VOL. 50, NOS. 19–20, 1197–1207 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2015.1103912 A preliminary study of nest structure and composition of the weaver ant Polyrhachis (Cyrtomyrma) delecta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) C. Tranter and W. O. H Hughes School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY Polyrhachis weaver ants build their nests from vegetation bound Received 20 November 2014 together using silk produced by their larvae. Here we provide a Accepted 30 September 2015 pilot study of the composition and the physical structure of three Online 23 November 2015 arboreal silk nests of Polyrhachis (Cyrtomyrma) delecta based on KEYWORDS examination of three colonies. We found broadly similar nest Nest architecture; colony architecture and size of the nests with each containing six or structure; silk girder; social seven identifiable chambers, and describe the distribution of insect; silk ants of different castes and life stages between them. We also note the construction of silk ‘girder’ structures, which spanned larger chambers, and we hypothesize that these provide addi- tional strength to the internal nest structure. This study highlights the importance of more detailed investigation of the internal nest structure and composition in Polyrhachis, and other weaver ant species, which will help to develop our understanding of this specialized form of nest construction and nesting habits in a diverse group of ants. Introduction The ability of social insects to locate suitable nesting sites and, through manipulation of the environment, to construct often highly complex nests is key to the success of the colony and of social insects in general (Hölldobler and Wilson 1990).
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity of Bacteria in Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Canopy and Understory of Selected Trees at Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, Laguna, Philippines
    Philippine Journal of Science 150 (3): 753-763, June 2021 ISSN 0031 - 7683 Date Received: 30 Sep 2020 Diversity of Bacteria in Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Canopy and Understory of Selected Trees at Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, Laguna, Philippines Michael P. Gatpatan1, Mia Beatriz C. Amoranto1, Alfredo Jose C. Ballesteros3, Noel G. Sabino1, Jocelyn T. Zarate2, Ma. Anita M. Bautista3, and Lucille C. Villegas1* 1Microbiology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences 2National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna 4031 Philippines 3National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB) University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines The Mount Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR) is a biodiversity hotspot and listed as one of the 170 conservation priority areas established by the Philippine government. Its flora and fauna diversity has been reported, but knowledge gap has been identified concerning the bacterial communities associated with the flora and fauna. This study focused on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which are dominant in forest canopy and play essential roles in the ecosystem functionality. A metagenomic sequencing approach based on amplified V3–V4 regions of the 16S rRNA was employed to investigate the bacterial communities associated with five arboreal ant species collected from MMFR. The collected ants were identified as Dolichoderus thoracicus, Myrmicaria sp., Colobopsis leonardi, Polyrhachis mindanaensis, and Polyrhachis semiinermis. The sequence analyses revealed that Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Firmicutes, Bacteroides, and Actinobacteria were the most abundant phyla. Individual analysis of the bacterial genera associated with the five ant species showed that unclassified members of Rhizobiaceae, Orbaceae, and Burkholderiaceae were dominant in D.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Spiny Ant Genus Polyrhachis Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    Systematic Entomology (2016), 41, 369–378 DOI: 10.1111/syen.12163 Out of South-East Asia: phylogeny and biogeography of the spiny ant genus Polyrhachis Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) DIRK MEZGERandCORRIE S. MOREAU Department of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, U.S.A. Abstract. Spiny ants (Polyrhachis Smith) are a hyper-diverse genus of ants distributed throughout the Palaeotropics and the temperate zones of Australia. To investigate the evolution and biogeographic history of the group, we reconstructed their phylogeny and biogeography using molecular data from 209 taxa and seven genes. Our molecular data support the monophyly of Polyrhachis at the generic level and several of the 13 recognized subgenera, but not all are recovered as monophyletic. We found that Cam- pomyrma Wheeler consists of two distinct clades that follow biogeographic affinities, that the boundaries of Hagiomyrma Wheeler are unclear depending on the analysis, that Myrma Billberg might be treated as one or two clades, and that Myrmhopla Forel is not monophyletic, as previously proposed. Our biogeographic ancestral range analyses suggest that the evolution of Polyrhachis originated in South-East Asia, with an age of the modern crown-group Polyrhachis of 58 Ma. Spiny ants dispersed out of South-East Asia to Australia several times, but only once to mainland Africa around 26 Ma. Introduction eight genera, most notably the genera Camponotus Mayr (carpenter ants) and Polyrhachis Smith (spiny ants) (Fig. 1) Ants are among the most ecologically important and abundant (Bolton, 2003, 2013). These genera are very common and arthropods (Lach et al., 2010). These social insects are espe- widespread, as well as very conspicuous ants due to their cially common in tropical forest ecosystems, where they act as above-ground foraging activities.
    [Show full text]
  • The Plant-Ant Camponotus Schmitzi Helps Its Carnivorous Host-Plant Nepenthes Bicalcarata to Catch Its Prey
    Journal of Tropical Ecology (2011) 27:15–24. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010 doi:10.1017/S0266467410000532 The plant-ant Camponotus schmitzi helps its carnivorous host-plant Nepenthes bicalcarata to catch its prey Vincent Bonhomme∗, Isabelle Gounand∗, Christine Alaux∗, Emmanuelle Jousselin†, Daniel Barthel´ emy´ ∗ and Laurence Gaume∗ ∗ Universite´ Montpellier II, CNRS, INRA, UMR AMAP: Botanique et Bioinformatique de l’Architecture des Plantes, CIRAD – TA A51/PS2 Boulevard de la Lironde, F-34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France † INRA, UMR CBGP, Campus International de Baillarguet, CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez, France (Accepted 24 August 2010) Abstract: The Bornean climber, Nepenthes bicalcarata, is unique among plants because it is both carnivorous and myrmecophytic, bearing pitcher-shaped leaves and the ant Camponotus schmitzi within tendrils. We explored, in the peat swamp forests of Brunei, the hypothesis that these ants contribute to plant nutrition by catching and digesting its prey.Wefirsttestedwhetherantsincreasedplant’scapturerate.Wefoundthatunlikemostplant-ants,C.schmitzidonot exhibit dissuasive leaf-patrolling behaviour (zero patrol on 67 pitchers of 10 plants) but lie concealed under pitcher rim (13 ± 6 ants per pitcher) allowing numerous insect visits. However, 47 out of 50 individuals of the largest visitor dropped into the pitchers of five plants were attacked by ants and the capture rate of the same pitchers deprived of their ambush hunting ants decreased three-fold. We then tested whether ants participated in plant’s digestion. We showed in a 15-d long experiment that ants fed on prey and returned it in pieces in seven out of eight pitchers. The 40 prey deposited in ant-deprived pitchers remained intact indicating a weak digestive power of the fluid confirmed to be only weakly acidic (pH ∼5, n = 67).
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of the Distribution, Habitat Association and Impact of Exotic Ants on Native Ant Communities in New Caledonia
    Overview of the Distribution, Habitat Association and Impact of Exotic Ants on Native Ant Communities in New Caledonia. Maïa Berman, Alan N Andersen, Christelle Hély, Cedric Gaucherel To cite this version: Maïa Berman, Alan N Andersen, Christelle Hély, Cedric Gaucherel. Overview of the Distribution, Habitat Association and Impact of Exotic Ants on Native Ant Communities in New Caledonia.. PLoS ONE, Public Library of Science, 2013, 8 (6), pp.e67245. 10.1371/journal.pone.0067245. hal- 01190477 HAL Id: hal-01190477 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01190477 Submitted on 1 Sep 2015 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Overview of the Distribution, Habitat Association and Impact of Exotic Ants on Native Ant Communities in New Caledonia Maı¨a Berman1,2,3*, Alan N. Andersen1,2, Christelle He´ly4,Ce´dric Gaucherel5 1 Ecosystem Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Winnellie, Northern Territory, Australia, 2 Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern
    [Show full text]
  • Insect-Based Medicines: a Review of Present Status and Prospects of Entomo-Therapeutic Resources for Human Ailment Denisha Rajkhowa*, Rokozeno, M.K
    International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Biotechnology Citation: IJAEB: 9(6): 1069-1079, December 2016 DOI: 10.5958/2230-732X.2016.00135.2 ©2016 New Delhi Publishers. All rights reserved ENTOMOLOGY Insect-Based Medicines: A Review of Present Status and Prospects of Entomo-Therapeutic Resources for Human Ailment Denisha Rajkhowa*, Rokozeno, M.K. Deka Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat- 785013, Assam, India *Corresponding author: [email protected] Paper No. 538 Received: 25 August 2015 Accepted: 24 December 2016 Abstract Insects and products derived from them have been consistently used as medicinal resources by human civilizations all over the world. The immunological, analgesic, antibacterial, diuretic, anesthetic and anti rheumatic property in the bodies of insects is now well recognized; however the immense scope for its exploration still remains untapped. The chemicals generated by insects for self defense can be used as medicinal drugs of enormous potentiality. Insects have long been utilized as significant dietary factor and remedy for illnesses in folk tradition. Such entomotherapeutic potential of insects can also make important contribution in conserving the biodiversity of insects. At present, insect based medicines are gradually on the rise and gaining popularity and relevance. Products based on insect-derived substances with conventional technologies will help in yielding further benefits. This review collates the most important works conducted on insects used for different
    [Show full text]
  • Corrie Saux Moreau
    CORRIE S. MOREAU Cornell University Office: (607) 255-4934 Departments of Entomology Cell: (607) 280-0199 and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Email: [email protected] 3136 Comstock Hall Twitter: @CorrieMoreau Ithaca, NY 14853 USA Website: www.moreaulab.org Born: New Orleans, Louisiana; U.S. Citizen RESEARCH INTERESTS Ecology and evolution of symbiosis; macroevolution; social insect evolution; host-microbe interactions; speciation and evolutionary diversification; evolution of gut microbiota; biogeography; phylogenetics/phylogenomics; molecular clocks and divergence dating; biodiversity genomics; ant-plant mutualisms; entomology; comparative biology; microbiomes. POSITIONS (2019 - present) Martha N. and John C. Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (2019 - present) Director and Curator of the Cornell University Insect Collection, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. (2017 - 2018) Robert A. Pritzker Director of the Integrative Research Center, Field Museum of Natural History Department of Science and Education, Chicago, IL. (2014 - 2018) Associate Curator/Professor (tenured), Field Museum of Natural History Department of Science and Education, Chicago, IL. (2008 - 2014) Assistant Curator/Professor (tenure-track), Field Museum of Natural History Department of Science and Education, Chicago, IL. (2008 - Present) Scientific Affiliate & Lecturer, University of Chicago Committee on Evolutionary Biology & Biological Sciences Division, Chicago, IL. (2007 - 2008) Miller Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley Integrative Biology / Environmental Science, Policy & Management Departments. EDUCATION (2003 - 2007) Ph.D. – Harvard University Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. Dissertation project on the evolution and diversification of ants. Advisors: Drs. Naomi E. Pierce and Edward O. Wilson. (2000 - 2003) M.Sc. – San Francisco State University / California Academy of Sciences Biology, Ecology and Systematics. Master’s thesis project on the molecular phylogeny of Dracula ants.
    [Show full text]