Small fire ant [1] ( lat. Wasmannia auropunctata ) is a species of small ants (1-2 mm in size) of the genus Wasmannia , commonly known as a dangerous invasive species that has settled around the world.
Small fire ant | ||||||||||||||||
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 Wasmannia auropunctata | ||||||||||||||||
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| Wasmannia auropunctata ( Roger , 1863 ) |
Content
- 1 Name
- 2 Description
- 3 Distribution
- 4 Classification
- 4.1 Subspecies
- 4.2 Synonyms
- 5 Value
- 6 Cloning
- 7 Pheromones
- 8 See also
- 9 notes
- 10 Literature
- 11 Links
Title
The name of the small fire ant is associated with its poisonous sting . Also known under such names as Electric ant , Little fire ant , Rote Feuerameise (German), Fourmi rouge , Petit fourmi de feu (French), Tsangonawenda (in Gabon ) [2] . In Latin America, it is called albayalde , hormiguilla , yerba de guinea , hormiga roja , hormiga eléctrica , hormiguita de fuego , formiga pixixica [3] [4] .
Description
Small ant about 1-2 mm long, from yellowish to golden brown (the abdomen is darker). Monomorphic workers. The stalk is two-segmented, consists of a petiol and a postpetiol. Antennae 11-segmented, mace of 2 segments.
Distribution
The small fire ant comes from Central and South America . However, in recent decades it has spread practically throughout the world, becoming a dangerous invasive species [5] [3] . It is found in the following regions: Africa (including Gabon and Cameroon ), North America , Israel [6] , in the Pacific Islands ( Galapagos Islands , Hawaii , New Caledonia , Solomon Islands ), northeastern Australia ( Queensland , Cairns) [7] [3] .
Classification
The species was first described in 1863 under the name Tetramorium auropunctatum [8] . Belongs to the tribe Blepharidattini .
Subspecies
- W. a. auropunctata ( Roger , 1863)
- W. a. australis emery
- W. a. laevifrons emery
- W. a. nigricans emery
- W. a. obscura forel
- W. a. pulla santschi
- W. a. rugosa forel
Synonyms
- Hercynia panamana ( Enzmann 1947)
- Ochetomyrmex auropunctata ( Forel 1886)
- Ochetomyrmex auropunctatum (Forel 1886)
- Ochetomyrmex auropunctatus (Forel 1886)
- Tetramorium auropunctatum roger 1863
- Wasmannia glabra ( Santschi 1931)
- Xiphomyrmex atomum (Santschi 1914)
Value
The harmful effect of a small fire ant on the ecosystems into which it was introduced is described as follows [3] :
Wasmannia auropunctata ... reduces the species diversity and abundance of winged and woody insects, and also reduces the number of arachnid populations. He is also known for his painful stings. In the Galapagos Islands, this ant eats turtle newly hatched from eggs and attacks the eyes and cesspool of adult turtles. This species of ants, experts say, is arguably the most dangerous species among all ants in the Pacific.
The development of a disease such as Florida keratopathy ( en: Florida keratopathy , Florida spots, Florida keratitis / keratopathy; Roze et al, 2004; Moore, 2005) is associated with the appearance of a small fire ant in local ecosystems. It is expressed in the appearance of microspots on the cornea of the eyes of domestic animals, especially in dogs and cats, and leads to blindness. This is due to the stings of a small fire ant. It is known in the southeastern United States, and under the name tropical keratopathy ("tropical keratopathy") - in other places of the invasive distribution of small fire ant [9] .
The spots on the cornea can have a size of 1 to 8 mm [10] .
Cloning
In a small fire ant, a unique variant of natural cloning was recently discovered [11] . The males and females of this ant evolved into separate, but symbiotic species. In him, working individuals develop from fertilized eggs, the uterus from unfertilized diploid eggs. In some eggs fertilized by males, all the mother’s chromosomes are destroyed, and males develop from such haploid eggs [12] .
Pheromones
Alkylpyrazines, including 2,5-dimethyl-3- (2-methylbutyl) pyrazine, were found in the pheromones of anxiety of the mandibular glands in a small fire ant [13] .
See also
- Red fire ant
Notes
- ↑ Striganova B.R. , Zakharov A.A. The Bilingual Dictionary of Animal Names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) /Ed. Dr. biol. sciences, prof. B.R. Striganova . - M .: RUSSO, 2000 .-- S. 295. - 1060 copies. - ISBN 5-88721-162-8 .
- ↑ Queensland Government Electric Ant: Warning Accessed March 7, 2009
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Global Invasive Species Database - No. 100 - Wasmannia auropunctata
- ↑ Queensland Government Electric Ant: Warning March 8, 2009
- ↑ Electric ant ( Wasmannia auropunctata ) webpage Archived February 14, 2009 at Wayback Machine Consultada el 8 de marzo de 2009
- ↑ SpringerLink - Journal Article
- ↑ Electric ant ( Wasmannia auropunctata ) webpage (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment March 7, 2009. Archived February 14, 2009.
- ↑ http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/PIAkey/Fact_Sheets/Wasmannia_auropunctata.html Wasmannia auropunctata]
- ↑ Roze, Maurice Corneal Diseases in Cats . Proceedings of the 30th World Congress of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (2005). Date of treatment January 1, 2010. Archived on April 14, 2012.
- ↑ Gelatt, Kirk N. (ed.). Veterinary Ophthalmology. - 3rd ed. - Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, 1999 .-- ISBN 0-683-30076-8 .
- ↑ Males and uterus of fire ants breed by cloning (inaccessible link)
- ↑ D. Fournier, A. Estoup, J. Orivel, J. Foucaud, H. Jourdan, J. Le Breton & L. Keller. Clonal reproduction by males and females in the little fire ant (English) // Nature : journal. - 2005. - Vol. 435 . - P. 1230-1234 . - DOI : 10.1038 / nature03705 .
- ↑ Showalter DN, EJ Troyer, M. Aklu, EB Jang and MS Siderhurst. 2010 . Alkylpyrazines: alarm pheromone components of the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux. Volume 57, Number 2 / May 2010 pp. 223—232
Literature
- Bertelsmeier, C., A. Avril, O. Blight, A. Confais, L. Diez, H. Jourdan, J. Orivel, N. St Germes, and F. Courchamp. 2015a. Different behavioural strategies among seven highly invasive ant species. Biological Invasions. 17: 2491-2503. doi: 10.1007 / s10530-015-0892-5
- Bertelsmeier, C., A. Avril, O. Blight, H. Jourdan, and F. Courchamp. 2015b. Discovery-dominance trade-off among widespread invasive ant species. Ecology and Evolution. 5: 2673-2683. doi: 10.1002 / ece3.1542
- Longino, JT and F. Fernandez. 2007. Taxonomic review of the genus Wasmannia. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 80. pp 271-289. In Snelling, RR, BL Fisher, and PS Ward (eds) Advances in ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): homage to EO Wilson - 50 years of contributions.