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Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp

Malcicka, Miriama; Bezemer, T. Martijn; Visser, Bertanne; Bloemberg, Mark; Snart, Charles J.P.; Hardy, Ian C.W.; Harvey, Jeffrey A.

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Authors

Miriama Malcicka

T. Martijn Bezemer

Bertanne Visser

Mark Bloemberg

Charles J.P. Snart

Ian C.W. Hardy

Jeffrey A. Harvey



Abstract

Many animals avoid attack from predators through toxicity or the emission of repellent chemicals. Defensive mimicry has evolved in many species to deceive shared predators, for instance through colouration and other morphological adaptations, but mimicry hardly ever seems to involve multi-trait similarities. Here we report on a wingless parasitoid wasp that exhibits a full spectrum of traits mimicing ants and affording protection against ground-dwelling predators (wolf spiders). In body size, morphology and movement Gelis agilis (Ichneumonidae) is highly similar to the black garden ant (Lasius niger) that shares the same habitat. When threatened, G. agilis also emits a volatile chemical that is similar to an ant-produced chemical that repels spiders. In bioassays with L. niger, G. agilis, G. areator, Cotesia glomerata and Drosophila melanogaster, ants and G. agilis were virtually immune to spider attack, in contrast the other species were not. Volatile characterisation with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified G. agilis emissions as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, a known insect defence semiochemical that acts as an alarm pheromone in ants. We argue that multi-trait mimicry, as observed in G. agilis, might be much more common among animals than currently realized.

Citation

Malcicka, M., Bezemer, T. M., Visser, B., Bloemberg, M., Snart, C. J., Hardy, I. C., & Harvey, J. A. (in press). Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp. Scientific Reports, 5, Article 8043. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08043

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Dec 29, 2014
Online Publication Date Jan 27, 2015
Deposit Date Mar 23, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Scientific Reports
Electronic ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 5
Article Number 8043
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08043
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/742568
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08043

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Malcicka Bezemer Visser Bloemberg Snart Hardy Harvey Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp Scientific Reports 2015.pdf (2.6 Mb)
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Copyright Statement
Copyright information regarding this work can be found at the following address: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0




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