queen of parasitic ants Lasius orientalis (Left) Invading the nest Lasius Flavus and approaches the queen (proper)
Keizo Takasuka/Kyushu College
Some parasitic ants take over colonies of associated species by inciting employee ants to kill and exchange the queen.
Roughly 230 species of ants are thought of parasitic, laying eggs in colonies of different species or stealing larvae and pupae. Some kill the host queen earlier than laying their very own eggs and persuade the employee bees to supply the eggs of their place.
Keizo Takasuka Professors at Kyushu College in Fukuoka, Japan seen this when the queen of the parasitic species invaded. Lasius orientalis Unintentionally introduced right into a relative’s nest, Lasius Flavus, flavus And the employees find yourself killing their queen, their mom.
Many parasitic queens are killed by employee bees when found, however some apparently cowl themselves with the colony’s scent and slip previous the colony’s defenses.
To see how profitable the parasitic queens have been, the researchers assisted the feminine invaders by masking them with the scent of employee ants earlier than introducing them into the colony.
“It jogs my memory of the Zombie TV sequence. the strolling lifeless“The characters go via the horde with walker blood on their our bodies, which entails disguise, however usually fails, and people who are uncovered are brutally killed,” Takasuga says.
As soon as the parasite invades a colony, it sprays a rival queen with a chemical that seems to be formic acid via a gap on the tip of its stomach.
The employee ants interpret this chemical as a hazard to the colony and assault the queen as quickly as they scent it. Nonetheless, the method is gradual, requiring a number of sprays and a number of assaults by personnel earlier than the queen is lastly killed. The parasitic queen is then in a position to lay eggs on her personal, that are cared for by employee bees.
“If the parasitism is profitable, the brand new queen can get via the delicate institution stage way more safely than establishing a colony alone,” Takasuga says. “I feel this technique could also be extra widespread than we presently notice.”
chris reed Researchers at Macquarie College in Sydney, Australia, say the advanced conduct of ants is troublesome to look at as a result of they happen in underground nests.
“One of these pure historical past detective work is crucial to growing our understanding of those extremely necessary bugs,” Reid says. “Additional analysis might even result in new methods to focus on invasive ant queens, one of many greatest challenges dealing with ecosystems world wide.”
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