Ectatomma tuberculatum (lat.) Is a species of small ants of the genus Ectatomma from the subfamily Ectatomminae ( Formicidae ). Widely distributed in the Americas. Considered as a biological control agent for pests of cotton , coffee , cocoa and corn in Guatemala , Panama , Nicaragua and Mexico . The genome size is 0.71 pg and is one of the largest for ants. Ants of the species Ectatomma parasiticum , which is a social parasite of the species Ectatomma tuberculatum, were found in anthills.
| Ectatomma tuberculatum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ectatomma tuberculatum ( Olivier , 1792) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Content
Distribution
It occurs in Central and South America (from Mexico to Argentina ) [1] [2] .
Description
Building
The ant is medium in size (body length - less than 1 cm). Body color from tan to reddish brown. The breast length of females is about 5 mm; scapus index - less than 99; propodeal spines reduced to small teeth. Clypeus - strongly convex in front. The antennae of workers and females are 12-segmented, while in males they consist of 13 segments (there is no mace). In the mandibular and lower labial palps of the workers, there are two segments each (palp formula 2.2, in males 5.3). Mandible workers with many teeth. The eyes are well developed. Workers have no spermatheca, and ovariol - from 1 to 4. The length of the scape is about 2.5 mm; the width of the head is 2.6-2.8 mm. The stalk between the breast and the abdomen consists of one segment ( petiol ). An explicit constriction between the 3rd and 4th abdominal segments (analogue of postpetiol myrmycin ) is developed. The males are winged. The venation of the wings is complete; there are subcostal, subradial, medial, cubital, anal and others. In females and workers, the sting is well developed. The whole body is covered with small and rough grooves and wrinkles [3] .
Morpho-physiological changes in the integument are observed in females after mating. Fertilized fertile females (uterus) secrete a wax layer, in contrast to unpaired non-fertile females. Such a wax coating makes them dull, and the layer itself has a greater amount of cuticular hydrocarbons compared to unfertilized females. As a result, they cease to be brilliant, like other workers and unfertilized females. The epidermis in the uterus of E. tuberculatum is a glandular epithelium consisting of exocrine glands. The epidermis of all fertile uterus of E. tuberculatum differs from the epidermis of the typical shiny unfertilized females and workers. The epidermis of the fertile uterus has a characteristic thick cover formed by a single layer of cubic cells (about 15 microns). In typical unfertilized females and working epidermis is represented by a thin layer of flattened cells (about 5 microns). The thick layer observed in the epidermis of the uterus was found in all the outer covers of their body, that is, on the head, chest, and on all abdominal tergites and sternites. In unpaired, but highly fertile females, the epidermis has an intermediate structure compared to fertile uterus and typical shiny females, its thickness is about 8 microns. In all female representatives, except for fertile uterus, the epidermis was always thin, characterized by flattened cells, regardless of the analyzed area of the body. The same flattened epidermis is characteristic of females of E. brunneum and E. vizottoi regardless of their mating or ovarian condition [4] [5] .
Worker on top
Side worker
View from above
Front head
Biology
Ants of this species build soil nests in savannas and tropical rainforests. Families are small, made up of several hundred ants. They hunt small invertebrates, collect extra-flowering nectar and aphid aphids [1] . Nests are located in the ground at the base of the trees. In Panama, a joint association with ants of the species Crematogaster limata is known [6] . On the ants of E. tuberculatum, social parasites of the species Ectatomma parasiticum parasitize , the only ones with such behavior in the subfamily Ectatomminae [7] . Initially, Ectatomma parasiticum was considered as a microgynous form of the indicated host species ( E. tuberculatum ). Their female microgyna are two times lighter in weight and 20% shorter than the female host species E. tuberculatum (macrogyne) [8] [2] . There are monogynous and optionally polygynous families. In more than half of anthills, several females are found: from 2 to 26 (an average of 2 or 3) [9] . Moreover, the level of genetic kinship in families is much higher than zero, which indicates the polygynous structure of ant colonies [10] . Polygyny facilitates the adoption of foreign females into the family, which basically successfully take root in new families. At the same time, the levels of the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of the adoptive and their females do not change after adaptation [11] .
The level of intraspecific aggressiveness of ants is much lower in closely located nests of E. tuberculatum . However, the degree of such aggressiveness correlates with the geographical distance of the nests from each other. Polydomy is confirmed by the lack of aggressiveness between workers from nests located at a distance of 3 m from each other. At the same time, the aggressiveness of ants to each other significantly increases between nests located at a distance of 10 to 1300 m [12] .
In Mexican populations, polygyny was found to increase the resistance of colonies to infection with the parasitic Eucharitidae and the nematodes Mermithidae [13] . Among the parasites, riders Dilocantha lachaudii [14] , Isomerala coronata, and Kapala sp. (Eucharitidae) [15] .
Active predators of Ectatomma tuberculatum (together with another widespread species of the genus Ectatomma ruidum ) are considered as an important agent for the biological control of pests of cotton, coffee, cocoa and corn in Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and Mexico [16] [17] .
Ants guard the myrmecophilic caterpillar of the Terenthina terentia ( Lycaenidae ) butterfly butterfly, receiving the sweet secrets secreted by it through a special dorsal nectar organ [18] .
Genetics
The diploid set of chromosomes is 2n = 36 [19] . Karyotype formula6A + 30M (2n = 36) [20] . The genome of the species Ectatomma tuberculatum is 0.71 pg and is one of the largest found in ants [21] [22] .
Classification and Etymology
The species was first described in 1792 by the French naturalist and entomologist Guillaume Antoine Olivier on workers and females under the original name Formica tuberculata Olivier, 1792 [23] . In 1858, the British entomologist Frederick Smith first described the males of E. tuberculatum , and the species itself was isolated into a separate genus Ectatomma (currently E. tuberculatum is a type species of the genus) [24] [25] .
The Latin word tuberculatum , used as a species name, is translated as “tubercular” [26] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Arias- PennaTM Género Ectatomma F. Smith. // Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia (Spanish) / Elizabeth Jiménez, Fernando Fernández, Tania Milena Arias, Fabio H. Lozano-Zambrano. - Bogotá DC, Colombia: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, 2008. - P. 53-107. - 622 p. - ISBN 978-958-8343-18-1 .
- ↑ 1 2 Nettel-Hernanz A., Lachaud J.-P., Fresneau D., López-Muñoz R. & Poteaux C. Biogeography, cryptic diversity, and queen dimorphism evolution of the Neotropical ant genus Ectatomma Smith, 1958 (Formicidae, Ectatomminae) (Eng.) // Organisms Diversity & Evolution: Journal. - 2015. - Vol. 15, no. 3 . - P. 543-553. - DOI : 10.1007 / s13127-015-0215-9 .
- ↑ Feitosa RM, Hora RR, Delabie JHC, Valenzuela J., Fresneau D. A new social parasite in the ant genus Ectatomma F. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae) (Eng.) // Zootaxa : Journal. - Auckland , New Zealand : Magnolia Press, 2008 .-- Vol. 1713. - P. 47-52. - ISSN 1175-5326 .
- ↑ Hora RR, Ionescu-Hirsh A., Simon T., Delabie J., Robert J., Fresneau D., Hefetz A. Postmating changes in cuticular chemistry and visual appearance in Ectatomma tuberculatum queens (Formicidae: Ectatomminae) (English) // Naturwissenschaften: Journal. - 2008 .-- Vol. 95, no. 1 . - P. 55-60.
- ↑ Riviane Rodigues da Hora, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie, Carolina Gonçalves dos Santos, José Eduardo Serrão. Glandular Epithelium as a Possible Source of a Fertility Signal in Ectatomma tuberculatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Queens (Eng.) // PLoS One: Journal. - 2010 .-- Vol. 5, no. 4 . - P. e10219. - DOI : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0010219 . Published online 2010 April 19.
- ↑ Wheeler DE Ectatomma tuberculatum : foraging biology and association with Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (Eng.) // Annals of the Entomological Society of America : Journal. - 1986. - Vol. 79, no. 2 . - P. 300-303.
- ↑ Fénéron RE, Poteaux C., Boilève M., Valenzuela J., Savarit F. Discrimination of the Social Parasite Ectatomma parasiticum by Its Host Sibling Species ( E. Tuberculatum ) // Psyche : A Journal of Entomology: Journal . - 2013 .-- Vol. 2013 . - P. 1-11 . - DOI : 10.1155 / 2013/573541 .
- ↑ Hora RR, Doums C., Poteaux C., Fénerón R., Valenzuela J., Heinze J. & Fresneau D. Small queens in the ant Ectatomma tuberculatum : a new case of social parasitism (Eng.) // Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Journal. - 2005. - Vol. 59 . - P. 285-292 .
- ↑ Hora RR, Vilela E., Fénéron R., Pezon A., Fresneau D., and Delabie J. Facultative polygyny in Ectatomma tuberculatum (Formicidae, Ectatomminae): Journal. - 2005. - Vol. 52. - P. 194-200.
- ↑ Zinck, L., Jaisson, P., Hora, RR, Denis, D., Poteaux, C., & Doums, C. The role of breeding system on ant ecological dominance: genetic analysis of Ectatomma tuberculatum (eng.) / / Behavioural Ecology: Journal. - 2007. - Vol. 18. - P. 701-708. - DOI : 10.1093 / beheco / arm033 .
- ↑ Zinck L., D. Denis, RR Hora, C. Alaux, A. Lenoir, A. Hefetz & P. Jaisson. Behavioral and Chemical Correlates of Long-Term Queen Adoption in the Facultative Polygynous Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum // J Insect Behav: Journal. - 2009. - Vol. 22. - P. 362-374. - DOI : 10.1007 / s10905-009-9178-z .
- ↑ Zinck L., Hora RR, Châline N., and Jaisson P. Low intraspecific aggression level in the polydomous and facultative polygynous ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (English) // Entomol. Exp. Appl. : Magazine. - 2007. - Vol. 126, no. 3 . - P. 211-216. - DOI : 10.1111 / j.1570-7458.2007.00654.x .
- ↑ Pérez-Lachaud G., Valenzuela J., & Lachaud JP Is increased resistance to parasitism at the origin of polygyny in a Mexican population of the ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)? (Eng.) // The Florida Entomologist: Journal. - 2011. - Vol. 94, no. 3 . - P. 677-684.
- ↑ Lachaud J.-P., Pérez-Lachaud G., and Heraty JM Parasites associated with the ponerine ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): first host record for the genus Dilocantha (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae ) // Florida Entomol. : Magazine. - 1998. - Vol. 81. - P. 570-574.
- ↑ Pérez-Lachaud, G., López-Méndez, JA, and Lachaud, J.-P. Eucharitid parasitism of the Neotropical ant Ectatomma tuberculatum : Parasitoid co-occurrence, seasonal variation, and multipar-asitism (English) // Biotropica : Magazine. - 2006. - Vol. 38, no. 4 . - P. 574-576.
- ↑ Perfecto, I. Indirect and direct effects in a tropical agroecosystem: the maize-pest-ant system in Nicaragua (Eng.) // Ecology: Journal. - 1990. - Vol. 71. - P. 2125-2134.
- ↑ Ibarra-Núñez, G., García, JA, López, JA, & Lachaud, JP Prey analysis in the diet of some ponerine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and web-building spiders (Araneae) in coffee plantations in Chiapas, Mexico ( English) // Sociobiology: Journal. - 2001. - Vol. 37. - P. 723-755.
- ↑ Ira Demina. Mysterious yellow "balls", caterpillars and ants . Elements.ru (May 2, 2019). Circulation date May 5, 2019.
- ↑ Lorite P. & Palomeque T. Karyotype evolution in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with a review of the known ant chromosome numbers (English) // Myrmecologische Nachrichten. - Wien, 2010 .-- Vol. 13 . - P. 89-102 .
- ↑ Luísa Antônia Campos Barros; Cléa SF Mariano; Davileide de Sousa Borges; Silvia G. Pompolo & Jacques HC Delabie. Cytogenetic Studies of the Neotropical Ant Genus Ectatomma (Formicidae: Ectatomminae: Ectatommini) (English) // Sociobiology: Journal. - 2008 .-- Vol. 51 (3). - P. 555-561.
- ↑ Detailed Record for Ectatomma tuberculatum (English) . Animal Genome Size Database . genomesize.com. Date of treatment July 5, 2017.
- ↑ Tsutsui ND, AV Suarez, JC Spagna, and JS Johnston. The evolution of genome size in ants (Eng.) // BMC Evolutionary Biology : Magazine. - London : BioMed Central 2008. - Vol. 8. - P. 64. - ISSN 1471-2148 .
- ↑ Olivier AG Encyclopédie méthodique. Histoire naturelle. Insectes. Tome 6. (pt. 2). - Paris: Panckoucke, 1792. - P. 369-704. (page 498, description of workers and females).
- ↑ Smith F. Catalog of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part vi. Formicidae. - London: British Museum, 1858. - P. 102 (description of males, inclusion in the genus Ectatomma , senior synonym for taxon tridentata ). - 216 p.
- ↑ Brown WL, Jr. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. II. Tribe Ectatommini (Hymenoptera) (Eng.) // Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology: Journal. - 1958. - Vol. 118 .-- P. 175-362.
- ↑ Galinova N.V., Fomin A.A. Latin-Russian dictionary for biology students (Russian) . - Yekaterinburg: Publishing House of the Ural University, 2014. - P. 162. - 186 p. - ISBN 978-7996-1179-8.
Literature
- Bolton B. Synopsis and classification of Formicidae (English) // Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. - Gainesville, FL: American Entomological Institute, 2003. - Vol. 71 . - P. 1-370 . - ISBN 1-887988-15-7 .
- da Hora RR, R. Fénéron, J. Valenzuela, ME Favila & D. Fresneau. Queen-size Dimorphism in the Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) (Eng.) // Sociobiology: Journal. - 2001. - Vol. 38. - P. 407-420.
- García-Pérez JA, Peña-Sánchez R., Camargo-Huiqui P., and Champalbert A. Rutas de forrajeo utilizadas por Ectatomma tuberculatum O. (Hymenoptera: Ponerinae) en una plantación de cacao en el Soconuscoo Chiap . // Folia Entomol. Mexicana. - 1991. - Vol. 82. - P. 1611-1671.
- Rocha, Franklin H .; Jean-Paul Lachaud; Javier Valle-Mora; Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud. Fine Individual Specialization and Elitism among Workers of the Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum for a Highly Specific Task: Intruder Removal (Eng.) // Ethology: Journal. - 2014 .-- Vol. 120, no. 12 . - P. 1185-1198. - DOI : 10.1111 / eth.12291 .
- Valenzuela-González J., López-Méndez A., and Lachaud J.-P. Activity patterns and foraging activity in nests of Ectatomma tuberculatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in cacao plantations (English) // Southwest. Entomol. : Magazine. - 1995. - Vol. 20. - P. 507-515.
- Weber NA Two common ponerine ants of possible economic significance, Ectatomma tuberculatum (Olivier) and E. ruidum Roger (Eng.) // Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington: Journal. - 1946. - Vol. 48. - P. 1-16.
- Zinck L., Hora RR, Châline N., and Jaisson P. Low intraspecific aggression level in the polydomous and facultative polygynous ant Ectatomma tuberculatum (English) // Entomol. Exp. Appl. : Magazine. - 2007. - Vol. 126, no. 3 . - P. 211-216. - DOI : 10.1111 / j.1570-7458.2007.00654.x .