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1. Myrmozercon mites are highly host specific: two new species of Myrmozercon Berlese associated with sympatric Camponotus ants in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Hans Klompen, Shahrooz Kazemi, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Mesostigmata, Laelapidae, Melittiphinae, Formicidae, Camponotini, Neotropics, Medicine, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Two new species of Myrmozercon, M. serratus sp. nov. and M. spatulatus sp. nov., are described based on adults and deutonymphs collected in association with ants in Mexico. They represent the first records of this genus from the Neotropic s.s. faunal region. Both new species are associated with hosts in the genus Camponotus from the same small area of a coastal lagoon, which share the same nesting habit preferences, providing strong evidence for host specificity. All but one colony of C. atriceps hosted mites, whereas they occurred in only half of the colonies of C. rectangularis. There was a significant positive correlation between the abundance of C. atriceps sexual ants and the abundance of mites. We summarize the known host associations for the genus Myrmozercon and discuss host specificity. Larvae of both mite species were collected on the wings of males and gynes suggesting that egg laying occurs on the hosts reproductive caste. Two hypotheses explaining this observation are discussed, larvae may be phoretic on winged sexuals, favoring mite co-dispersal with hosts, or larvae reside on the alates as a refuge from predation.
Published: 2024
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2. Cohabitation with aggressive hosts: description of a new microhisterid species in nests of a ponerine ant with ecological notes

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Nicolas Degallier, Yves Gomy, Manuel Elías-Gutiérrez, Franklin H. Rocha, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Abstract A new clown beetle species, Bacanius neoponerae, is described from Mexican nests of the arboreal ponerine ant Neoponera villosa found in the tank bromeliad Aechmea bracteata. Adult beetles were found in brood chambers or inner refuse piles, but also outside the ant nests, in decaying organic matter between the bromeliad leaves. No direct interactions between ants and microhisterid beetles could be observed. Several lines of evidence suggest a close relationship either with the ants, specific microhabitats within the ant nests or the bromeliads. Sample site elevation, colony size, monthly rainfall and collecting site were the main variables predicting the association. Almost half of the N. villosa colonies were associated with the microhisterids, and larger colonies favored their presence, especially during the driest months of the year. Two specimens were found in a nest of another ant species, Camponotus atriceps, also inhabiting A. bracteata. The new species is the seventh of the genus Bacanius reported from Mexico. This is the second time a species of this genus is associated with ants, and the fourth record of a histerid beetle cohabiting with ponerine ants. The small size of these beetles and their very protective body structure may facilitate their cohabitation with such aggressive hosts.
Published: 2023
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3. A new ant-butterfly symbiosis in the forest canopy fills an evolutionary gap

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Franklin H. Rocha, Carmen Pozo, Lucas A. Kaminski, Noemy Seraphim, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Abstract Myrmecophilous butterflies can establish complex symbiotic relationships with ants. A caterpillar wandering among the brood of the aggressive ponerine ant Neoponera villosa was found inside the core of a nest built in the myrmecophytic bromeliad Aechmea bracteata. This is the first caterpillar found living inside a ponerine ant nest. Its DNA barcode was sequenced, and an integrative approach was used to identify it as Pseudonymphidia agave, a poorly known member of the subtribe Pachythonina in the riodinid tribe Nymphidiini. The cuticle of the tank-like caterpillar lacks projections or tubercles and is covered dorsally by specialized flat setae that form an armor of small plates. Ant-organs potentially related to caterpillar-ant signaling, such as perforated cupola organs and tentacle nectary organs, are present. These morphological traits, together with evidence of social integration (direct contact with host brood, protective morphology, slow movement, no host aggressiveness), suggest that P. agave is a symbiotic, social parasite of N. villosa, preying on its host brood. However, several knowledge gaps remain, including oviposition site, dependence on bromeliad association, steps to colony integration, and larval diet through development. Carnivory has been reported in all known members of the subtribe Pachythonina (caterpillars prey on honeydew-producing hemipterans) suggesting a shift to myrmecophagy inside the ant nests as a possible evolutionary transition.
Published: 2021
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4. Nest architecture and colony composition in two populations of Ectatomma ruidum sp. 2 (E. ruidum species complex) in southwestern Colombia.

Author: Carlos Santamaría, Inge Armbrecht, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Nest architecture plays a fundamental role in the adaptation of ants to their habitat, favoring the action of economically important species. Ectatomma ruidum sp. 2 (ruidum species complex) is a biological control agent in Neotropical agroecosystems, exhibiting high bioturbation impact due to high nest densities. The architecture and composition of 152 nests were studied in two Andean populations of southwestern Colombia, 24 of them being cast using the paraffin wax technique. Nest entrance was a single, circular, 4 mm hole at ground level, without any special external structure, connected to a single vertical tunnel communicating with successive half ellipsoidal chambers. Nests were extremely shallow (depth range: 28.7-35.4 cm), with an average of six chambers and an overall volume of 92.2 cm3 per nest. The deeper the chamber, the smaller its volume. Nest building was independent of plants or roots, and no surface or underground physical connections were found between neighboring nests. Few nests possessed a queen, and neither ergatoids nor microgynes were recorded. Despite significant interactions between localities and the number of both males and workers, queen presence had an overall highly positive effect on the number of workers and larvae and a negative one on the number of gynes. Overall, the studied Colombian populations of E. ruidum sp. 2 retained the simple nest structure described for other species of this species complex and for colonies of the same species from other geographical areas, though they constrasted in their extreme shallowness. Our data suggest that E. ruidum sp. 2, at the local level, does not follow the usual monodomic pattern of this species with facultative polygyny but, rather, has a polydomic pattern with monogyny, perhaps related to the extreme shallowness of the nests due to soil structure, which could significantly enhance the queen's reproductive inhibition previously reported for this species.
Published: 2022
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5. Co-occurrence in ant primary parasitoids: a Camponotus rectangularis colony as host of two eucharitid wasp genera

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Ant-parasitoid relationships, Symbiotic associations, Local parasitism rates, Natural history, Parasitism avoidance, Polydomy, Medicine, Biology (General), QH301-705.5
Abstract: Different assemblages of parasitoids may attack a given host species and non-random distribution patterns in parasitoid species assemblages have been reported on various occasions, resulting in co-occurrence at the population, colony, or even individual host levels. This is the case for different closely related species of eucharitid wasps (a family of specialized ant parasitoids) sharing similar niches and co-occurring on the same host at different levels. Here we reviewed all known associations between eucharitid wasps and the ant host genus Camponotus Mayr, 1861 and reported new ant-parasitoid associations. In addition, we report a new case of co-occurrence in eucharitid wasps, at the host colony level, involving a new undescribed species of Pseudochalcura Ashmead, 1904 and an unidentified species of Obeza Heraty, 1985, which attack the common but very poorly known neotropical arboreal ant Camponotus rectangularis Emery, 1890. Most attacks were solitary, but various cocoons were parasitized by two (16%) or three (8%) parasitoids. Globally, parasitism prevalence was very low (3.7%) but showed an important variability among samples. Low parasitism prevalence along with host exposure to parasitoid attack on host plants and overlapping reproductive periods of both parasitoid species may have allowed the evolution of co-occurrence. We also provided some additional data regarding the host ant nesting habits, the colony composition and new symbiotic associations with membracids and pseudococcids. The seemingly polydomous nesting habits of C. rectangularis could play a part in the reduction of parasitism pressure at the population level and, combined with occasionally important local parasitism rates, could also contribute to some parts of the colonies escaping from parasites, polydomy possibly representing an effective parasitism avoidance trait.
Published: 2021
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6. Fine-tuned intruder discrimination favors ant parasitoidism.

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Franklin H Rocha, Javier Valle-Mora, Yann Hénaut, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: A diversity of arthropods (myrmecophiles) thrives within ant nests, many of them unmolested though some, such as the specialized Eucharitidae parasitoids, may cause direct damage to their hosts. Ants are known to discriminate between nestmates and non-nestmates, but whether they recognize the strength of a threat and their capacity to adjust their behavior accordingly have not been fully explored. We aimed to determine whether Ectatomma tuberculatum ants exhibited specific behavioral responses to potential or actual intruders posing different threats to the host colony and to contribute to an understanding of complex ant-eucharitid interactions. Behavioral responses differed significantly according to intruder type. Ants evicted intruders that represented a threat to the colony's health (dead ants) or were not suitable as prey items (filter paper, eucharitid parasitoid wasps, non myrmecophilous adult weevils), but killed potential prey (weevil larvae, termites). The timing of detection was in accordance with the nature and size of the intruder: corpses (a potential source of contamination) were detected faster than any other intruder and transported to the refuse piles within 15 min. The structure and complexity of behavioral sequences differed among those intruders that were discarded. Workers not only recognized and discriminated between several distinct intruders but also adjusted their behavior to the type of intruder encountered. Our results confirm the previously documented recognition capabilities of E. tuberculatum workers and reveal a very fine-tuned intruder discrimination response. Colony-level prophylactic and hygienic behavioral responses through effective removal of inedible intruders appears to be the most general and flexible form of defense in ants against a diverse array of intruders. However, this generalized response to both potentially lethal and harmless intruders might have driven the evolution of ant-eucharitid interactions, opening a window for parasitoid attack and allowing adult parasitoid wasps to quickly leave the natal nest unharmed.
Published: 2019
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7. Nest Site Selection during Colony Relocation in Yucatan Peninsula Populations of the Ponerine Ants Neoponera villosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Author: Franklin H. Rocha, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Yann Hénaut, Carmen Pozo, and Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud
Subjects: aechmea bracteata, bromeliad, ponerinae, tandem running, colony relocation, adaptation, Science
Abstract: In the Yucatan Peninsula, the ponerine ant Neoponera villosa nests almost exclusively in tank bromeliads, Aechmea bracteata. In this study, we aimed to determine the factors influencing nest site selection during nest relocation which is regularly promoted by hurricanes in this area. Using ants with and without previous experience of Ae. bracteata, we tested their preference for refuges consisting of Ae. bracteata leaves over two other bromeliads, Ae. bromeliifolia and Ananas comosus. We further evaluated bromeliad-associated traits that could influence nest site selection (form and size). Workers with and without previous contact with Ae. bracteata significantly preferred this species over others, suggesting the existence of an innate attraction to this bromeliad. However, preference was not influenced by previous contact with Ae. bracteata. Workers easily discriminated between shelters of Ae. bracteata and A. comosus, but not those of the closely related Ae. bromeliifolia. In marked contrast, ants discriminated between similar sized Ae. bracteata and Ae. bromeliifolia plants, suggesting that chemical cues and plant structure play an important role. Size was also significant as they selected the largest plant when provided two dissimilar Ae. bracteata plants. Nest site selection by N. villosa workers seems to depend on innate preferences but familiarization with plant stimuli is not excluded.
Published: 2020
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8. Hidden biodiversity in entomological collections: The overlooked co-occurrence of dipteran and hymenopteran ant parasitoids in stored biological material.

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: Biological collections around the world are the repository of biodiversity on Earth; they also hold a large quantity of unsorted, unidentified, or misidentified material and can house behavioral information on species that are difficult to access or no longer available to science. Among the unsorted, alcohol-preserved material stored in the Formicidae Collection of the 'El Colegio de la Frontera Sur' Research Center (Chetumal, Mexico), we found nine colonies of the ponerine ant Neoponera villosa, that had been collected in bromeliads at Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico) in 1999. Ants and their brood were revised for the presence of any sign of parasitism. Cocoons were dissected and their content examined under a stereomicroscope. Six N. villosa prepupae had been attacked by the ectoparasitoid syrphid fly Hypselosyrphus trigonus Hull (Syrphidae: Microdontinae), to date the only known dipteran species of the Microdontinae with a parasitoid lifestyle. In addition, six male pupae from three colonies contained gregarious endoparasitoid wasps. These were specialized in parasitizing this specific host caste as no gyne or worker pupae displayed signs of having been attacked. Only immature stages (larvae and pupae) of the wasp could be obtained. Due to the long storage period, DNA amplification failed; however, based on biological and morphological data, pupae were placed in the Encyrtidae family. This is the first record of an encyrtid wasp parasitizing N. villosa, and the second example of an encyrtid as a primary parasitoid of ants. Furthermore, it is also the first record of co-occurrence of a dipteran ectoparasitoid and a hymenopteran endoparasitoid living in sympatry within the same population of host ants. Our findings highlight the importance of biological collections as reservoirs of hidden biodiversity, not only at the taxonomic level, but also at the behavioral level, revealing complex living networks. They also highlight the need for funding in order to carry out biodiversity inventories and manage existing collections.
Published: 2017
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9. Entedoninae wasps (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eulophidae) associated with ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in tropical America, with new species and notes on their biology

Author: Christer Hansson, Jean-Paul Lachaud, and Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud
Subjects: Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract: Three new species of Eulophidae associated, or presumed to be associated with ants are described: two species of Horismenus Walker and one species of Microdonophagus Schauff. Information on the biology is also included. The two Horismenus species are from Chiapas, Mexico. Horismenus myrmecophagus sp. n. is known only from females and is a gregarious endoparasitoid in larvae of the weaver ant Camponotus sp. ca. textor. The parasitoids pupate inside the host larva, and an average of 6.7 individuals develops per host. This is the second time a species of genus Horismenus is found parasitizing the brood of a formicine ant of genus Camponotus. Horismenus microdonophagus sp. n. is described from both males and females, and is a gregarious endoparasitoid attacking the larvae of Microdon sp. (Diptera: Syrphidae), a predator on ant brood found in nests of Camponotus sp. ca. textor. The new species of Microdonophagus, M. tertius, is from Costa Rica, and known only from the female. Nothing is known about its biology but since another species in same genus, M. woodleyi Schauff, is associated with ants through its host, Microdon larva (with same biology as H. microdonophagus), it is possible that also M. tertius has this association. A new distributional record for M. woodleyi is also reported, extending its distribution from Panama and Colombia to Brazil.
Published: 2011
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10. Arboreal ant colonies as 'hot-points' of cryptic diversity for myrmecophiles: the weaver ant Camponotus sp. aff. textor and its interaction network with its associates.

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Medicine, Science
Abstract: INTRODUCTION:Systematic surveys of macrofaunal diversity within ant colonies are lacking, particularly for ants nesting in microhabitats that are difficult to sample. Species associated with ants are generally small and rarely collected organisms, which makes them more likely to be unnoticed. We assumed that this tendency is greater for arthropod communities in microhabitats with low accessibility, such as those found in the nests of arboreal ants that may constitute a source of cryptic biodiversity. MATERIALS AND METHODS:We investigated the invertebrate diversity associated with an undescribed, but already threatened, Neotropical Camponotus weaver ant. As most of the common sampling methods used in studies of ant diversity are not suited for evaluating myrmecophile diversity within ant nests, we evaluated the macrofauna within ant nests through exhaustive colony sampling of three nests and examination of more than 80,000 individuals. RESULTS:We identified invertebrates from three classes belonging to 18 taxa, some of which were new to science, and recorded the first instance of the co-occurrence of two brood parasitoid wasp families attacking the same ant host colony. This diversity of ant associates corresponded to a highly complex interaction network. Agonistic interactions prevailed, but the prevalence of myrmecophiles was remarkably low. CONCLUSIONS:Our data support the hypothesis of the evolution of low virulence in a variety of symbionts associated with large insect societies. Because most myrmecophiles found in this work are rare, strictly specific, and exhibit highly specialized biology, the risk of extinction for these hitherto unknown invertebrates and their natural enemies is high. The cryptic, far unappreciated diversity within arboreal ant nests in areas at high risk of habitat loss qualifies these nests as 'hot-points' of biodiversity that urgently require special attention as a component of conservation and management programs.
Published: 2014
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11. New Host Record for Camponotophilus delvarei (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), a Parasitoid of Microdontine Larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae), Associated with the Ant Camponotus sp. aff. textor

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Michael W. Gates, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract: Microdontine syrphid flies are obligate social parasites of ants. Larvae prey on ant brood whereas adults live outside the nests. Knowledge of their interaction with their host is often scarce, as it is information about their natural enemies. Here we report the first case of parasitism of a species of microdontine fly by a myrmecophilous eurytomid wasp. This is also the first host record for Camponotophilus delvarei Gates, a recently described parasitic wasp discovered in Chiapas, Mexico, within the nests of the weaver ant, Camponotus sp. aff. textor Forel. Eleven pupal cases of a microdontine fly were found within a single nest of this ant, five of them being parasitized. Five adult C. delvarei females were reared from a puparium and 29 female and 2 male pupae were obtained from another one. The eurytomid is a gregarious, primary ectoparasitoid of larvae and pupae of Microdontinae, its immature stages developing within the protective puparium of the fly. The species is synovigenic. Adult females likely locate and parasitize their hosts within the ant nest. As some species of Microdontinae are considered endangered, their parasitoids are likewise threatened and in need of accurate and urgent surveys in the future.
Published: 2013
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12. Ants and Their Parasites 2013

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Alain Lenoir, and David P. Hughes
Subjects: Zoology, QL1-991
Published: 2013
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13. Diversity of Species and Behavior of Hymenopteran Parasitoids of Ants: A Review

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud and Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud
Subjects: Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract: Reports of hymenopterans associated with ants involve more than 500 species, but only a fraction unambiguously pertain to actual parasitoids. In this paper, we attempt to provide an overview of both the diversity of these parasitoid wasps and the diversity of the types of interactions they have formed with their ant hosts. The reliable list of parasitoid wasps using ants as primary hosts includes at least 138 species, reported between 1852 and 2011, distributed among 9 families from 3 superfamilies. These parasitoids exhibit a wide array of biologies and developmental strategies: ecto- or endoparasitism, solitary or gregarious, and idio- or koinobiosis. All castes of ants and all developmental stages, excepting eggs, are possible targets. Some species parasitize adult worker ants while foraging or performing other activities outside the nest; however, in most cases, parasitoids attack ant larvae either inside or outside their nests. Based on their abundance and success in attacking ants, some parasitoid wasps like diapriids and eucharitids seem excellent potential models to explore how parasitoids impact ant colony demography, population biology, and ant community structure. Despite a significant increase in our knowledge of hymenopteran parasitoids of ants, most of them remain to be discovered.
Published: 2012
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14. Poneromorph Ants Associated with Parasitoid Wasps of the Genus Kapala Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) in French Guiana

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Philippe Cerdan, and Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud
Subjects: Zoology, QL1-991
Abstract: Eucharitid wasps are specific, specialized parasitoids of ants. The genus Kapala Cameron is the most common in the Neotropics but few species are described, and information dealing with their biology, behavior and host associations is scarce. Numerous poneromorph ant colonies were inspected over 4 collection surveys in French Guiana. A diverse fauna of parasites and parasitoids was found, including mermithid nematodes, flies, eucharitids, and another gregarious endoparasitoid wasp. Five new host associations for Kapala are reported, all of them involving medium- to large-size poneromorph ant species from 4 genera: Ectatomma brunneum Fr. Smith, Gnamptogenys tortuolosa (Fr. Smith), Odontomachus haematodus (L.), O. mayi Mann, and Pachycondyla verenae (Forel). Three other associations involving O. hastatus (Fabr.), P. apicalis (Latreille), and P. stigma (Fabr.), already reported for other countries but new for French Guiana, are confirmed. The data extend the number of hosts for Kapala to 24 ant species from 7 genera. The high diversity of the ant host genera associated with Kapala, combined with the fact that these ant genera are the most widely distributed among Neotropical poneromorph ants, could account for the dominant status of the genus Kapala among the eucharitine wasps of Central and South America.
Published: 2012
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15. Ants and Their Parasites

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Alain Lenoir, and Volker Witte
Subjects: Zoology, QL1-991
Published: 2012
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16. First Record of the Elusive Ant Parasitoid Horismenus floridensis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in Mexico and New Association with an Ant Host

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Franklin H. Rocha, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Insect Science
Published: 2023
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17. Filling the gap: a new ant-butterfly symbiosis in the forest canopy

Author: Lucas A. Kaminski, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Noemy Seraphim, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Carmen Pozo, and Franklin H. Rocha
Subjects: Tree canopy, Geography, Symbiosis, Ecology, Butterfly, ANT
Abstract: Myrmecophilous butterflies can establish complex symbiotic relationships with ants. An elusive symbiotic caterpillar wandering among the brood of the aggressive ponerine ant, Neoponera villosa, was found inside the core of a nest built in the myrmecophytic bromeliad Aechmea bracteata. This is the first caterpillar found in symbiosis with a species of the subfamily Ponerinae. Tissue sample was barcoded, and an integrative approach was used to identify it as Pseudonymphidia agave, a poorly known Pachythonina member in the riodinid myrmecophilous tribe Nymphidiini. The caterpillar has a general tank-like body morphology, without projections or tubercles, and is covered dorsally by specialized flat setae that form an armor of small plates. Ant-organs potentially related to the caterpillar-ant signaling, such as perforated cupola organs and tentacle nectary organs, are present. These functional traits, together with the stable social integration, suggest that P. agave is a specialized social parasite of N. villosa. However, several knowledge gaps remain, notably the oviposition site, dependence on bromeliad association, steps to colony integration, and the larval diet through ontogeny. Carnivory has been reported in all known members of the Pachythonina subtribe (caterpillars prey on honeydew-producing hemipterans), and a shift to myrmecophagy inside the ant nests is a possible evolutionary step.
Published: 2021
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18. A new putative species in the Ectatomma ruidum complex (Formicidae: Ectatomminae) produces a species-specific distress call

Author: Chantal Poteaux, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Paul Devienne, Maxence Brault, Kenzy I. Peña Carrillo, Gianni Pavan, Maria Cristina Lorenzi, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias [Mexico] (INIFAP), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0303 health sciences, Species complex, Ecology, Ectatomma ruidum, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Zoology, stridulations, Morphology (biology), Stridulation, Biology, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Ectatomminae, species complex, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, ant acoustics, 030304 developmental biology, stridulatory organ
Abstract: Social insects communicate by using chemical, visual, tactile, and acoustic signals, including stridulations. Ectatomma ruidum is a mainly Neotropical ant species complex that has faced strong divergence at the genetic level; the species have a highly variable blend of cuticular hydrocarbons and a relatively conserved morphology. Based on evidence for genetic and chemical differentiation, we tested for variation in acoustic traits. We compared the stridulations produced by the species E. ruidum sp. 2, sp. 3–4 and the new putative species E. ruidum sp. 5, as well as the morphology of the stridulatory file. We found that the stridulations produced by E. ruidum sp. 5 were statistically different from those of the other species in a number of traits. The differences in stridulatory traits might rely more on the way the ants produce the sound (rubbed area percentages) than on the morphology of the stridulatory file, for which we did not find variation. Our results highlight the use of acoustic traits as potential taxonomic tools for integrative taxonomic studies and suggest that the acoustic traits of E. ruidum species complex have been subjected to selection.
Published: 2021
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19. Ectatomma

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud
Published: 2021
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20. Mexico's Ants: Who are They and Where do They Live?

Author: Luis N. Quiroz-Robedo, Jéssica Caroline de Faria Falcão, Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez, Miguel Vásquez-Bolaños, Jesús Lumar Reyes-Muñoz, Bolívar Aponte, Ricardo Madrigal-Chavero, Iris Saraeny Rivera-Salinas, Luis A. Díaz-Montiel, Ian MacGregor-Fors, Laura Sáenz, María Gómez-Lazaga, Irene Alcalá-Martínez, Luis A. Tarango-Arámbula, Martha Madora-Astudillo, Edgar Chávez-González, Jorge Víctor Horta-Vega, Jorge E. Valenzuela-González, Federico Escobar, Martha L. Baena, Erick J. Corro, Adrián Bonilla-Ramírez, Katherine K. Ennis, Rene Torres-Ricario, Ivette Alicia Chamorro-Florescano, Jaime Hernández-Flores, Alfredo Ramírez-Hernández, Miguel Á. García-Martínez, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Wesley Dáttilo, Ashley García Colón Sandoval, Michel Pale, Saúl Ugalde-Lezama, José Javier Reynoso-Campos, Julieta Benítez-Malvido, Patricia Rojas, Cristopher Albor, Fernando Montiel-Reyes, Miguel Angel Soto-Cárdenas, Fabricio Villalobos, Tatianne Marques, Dora L. Martínez-Tlapa, Reuber Antoniazzi, Madai Rosas-Mejía, Viviana Martínez Mandujano, Juan Francisco Pérez-Domínguez, Andrés I. Villarreal, Stacy M. Philpott, Mariana Cuautle, Milan Janda, Agustín Rafael García Romero, Tatiana Joaqui, Zachary Hajian-Forooshani, Isaías Chairez-Hernández, Aldo De la Mora, Ana Leticia Escalante-Jiménez, Rosamond Coates, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Margarita Villalvazo-Palacios, Pedro Luna, Fernando Varela-Hernández, Diana A. Ahuatzin, Sandra Luz Gómez-Acevedo, Brenda Juárez-Juárez, Juan Antonio Rodríguez-Garza, Miguel Mauricio Correa-Ramírez, Javier Martínez Toledo, Maya Rocha-Ortega, Gabriela Castaño-Meneses, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Roger Guevara, Mario J. Aguilar-Méndez, José Domingo Cruz-Labana, Claudia E. Moreno, Citlalli Castillo-Guevara, Robert W. Jones, Ana Paola Martínez-Falcón, José Luis Navarrete-Heredia, Gibrán Renoy Pérez-Toledo, Instituto de Ecologia (INECOL), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 05 social sciences, 050301 education, General Medicine, [SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 0503 education, 01 natural sciences, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
Abstract: International audience
Published: 2020
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21. Nest Site Selection during Colony Relocation in Yucatan Peninsula Populations of the Ponerine Ants Neoponera villosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Yann Hénaut, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Franklin H. Rocha, Carmen Pozo, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and El Colegio de la Frontera Sur unidad Chetumal
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Zoology, Hymenoptera, adaptation, Ponerinae, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, [SCCO]Cognitive science, [SDV.EE.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Ecosystems, Nest, aechmea bracteata, lcsh:Science, colony relocation, Selection (genetic algorithm), 030304 developmental biology, tandem running, 0303 health sciences, biology, Villosa, biology.organism_classification, Attraction, bromeliad, Insect Science, Aechmea bracteata, lcsh:Q, Adaptation, Tandem running
Abstract: In the Yucatan Peninsula, the ponerine ant Neoponera villosa nests almost exclusively in tank bromeliads, Aechmea bracteata. In this study, we aimed to determine the factors influencing nest site selection during nest relocation which is regularly promoted by hurricanes in this area. Using ants with and without previous experience of Ae. bracteata, we tested their preference for refuges consisting of Ae. bracteata leaves over two other bromeliads, Ae. bromeliifolia and Ananas comosus. We further evaluated bromeliad-associated traits that could influence nest site selection (form and size). Workers with and without previous contact with Ae. bracteata significantly preferred this species over others, suggesting the existence of an innate attraction to this bromeliad. However, preference was not influenced by previous contact with Ae. bracteata. Workers easily discriminated between shelters of Ae. bracteata and A. comosus, but not those of the closely related Ae. bromeliifolia. In marked contrast, ants discriminated between similar sized Ae. bracteata and Ae. bromeliifolia plants, suggesting that chemical cues and plant structure play an important role. Size was also significant as they selected the largest plant when provided two dissimilar Ae. bracteata plants. Nest site selection by N. villosa workers seems to depend on innate preferences but familiarization with plant stimuli is not excluded.
Published: 2020
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22. Highly divergent cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in the cleptobiotic ants of the Ectatomma ruidum species complex

Author: Kenzy Ivveth Peña-Carrillo, Chloé Leroy, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Chantal Poteaux, Rubi N. Meza-Lázaro, Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón, Maria Cristina Lorenzi, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias [Mexico] (INIFAP), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México = National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ECOSUR Unidad Tapachula, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Entomology, Species complex, Ectatomma ruidum, chemical divergence, Zoology, Morphology (biology), Chemical communication, [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, 01 natural sciences, Biochemistry, Intraspecific competition, biotic interactions, Nest, [SDV.BID.SPT] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics, Phylogenetics and taxonomy, species complex, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, nestmate recognition cues, biology, fungi, biology.organism_classification, ANT, [SDV.BA.ZI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Invertebrate Zoology, 010602 entomology, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, [SDV.BA.ZI] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Invertebrate Zoology, thievery, 010606 plant biology & botany
Abstract: International audience; In social insects, chemical communication is the main communication mode among colony members, which use the blends of cuticular hydrocarbons as recognition cues to discriminate between nestmates and non-nestmates and to prevent the exploitation of their nest resources by aliens. The aim of this study was to assess the variation of nestmate recognition cues in the ant Ectatomma ruidum, a species complex with a considerably conserved morphology and one of the few ant species where intraspecific thievery, a form of cleptoparasitism, has been reported. We analyzed the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of ants collected from a number of geographically separated populations, and examined DNA sequence data to assess their species identity. We focused on one species of the complex, E. ruidum sp. 3-4, whose species delineation remains controversial. We documented that several quantitative and qualitative traits of the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles varied significantly between populations, indicating that this species harbors more cuticular chemical phenotypic diversity than expected within a single species. In particular, there was a striking divergence among populations in the proportion of methylalkanes, alkenes, alkadienes and odd-chain components, which likely play a major role in nestmate/non-nestmate discrimination, a process which might have been crucial in these cleptobiotic ants. Further investigations are needed to test the hypothesis that biotic pressures, such as the need to discriminate conspecific intruders and limit thievery, could have played an important role in promoting the evolutionary divergence between populations in this ant species complex.
Published: 2020
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23. Mexico ants: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface

Author: Aldo De la Mora, Stacy M. Philpott, Reuber Antoniazzi, Bolívar Aponte, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Milan Janda, Margarita Villalvazo-Palacios, Agustín Rafael García Romero, Fernando Montiel-Reyes, Tatiana Joaqui, Ian MacGregor-Fors, Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez, Fernando Varela-Hernández, Federico Escobar, Saúl Ugalde-Lezama, Gabriela Castaño-Meneses, Miguel Vásquez-Bolaños, Ashley García Colón Sandoval, Mario J. Aguilar-Méndez, Cristopher Albor, Jesús Lumar Reyes-Muñoz, Diana A. Ahuatzin, Patricia Rojas, Sandra Luz Gómez-Acevedo, Juan Antonio Rodríguez-Garza, Javier Martínez Toledo, Edgar Chávez-González, Luis N. Quiroz-Robedo, Tatianne Marques, Jéssica Caroline de Faria Falcão, Brenda Juárez-Juárez, Katherine K. Ennis, Viviana Martínez Mandujano, Juan Francisco Pérez-Domínguez, Pedro Luna, Wesley Dáttilo, Luis A. Díaz-Montiel, Erick J. Corro, Iris Saraeny Rivera-Salinas, Miguel Mauricio Correa-Ramírez, Adrián Bonilla-Ramírez, Mariana Cuautle, José Domingo Cruz-Labana, Maya Rocha-Ortega, Laura Sáenz, Claudia E. Moreno, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Jaime Hernández-Flores, Alfredo Ramírez-Hernández, Ana Leticia Escalante-Jiménez, Luis A. Tarango-Arámbula, Ivette Alicia Chamorro-Florescano, Michel Pale, Miguel Á. García-Martínez, Ricardo Madrigal-Chavero, Roger Guevara, María Gómez-Lazaga, Fabricio Villalobos, José Javier Reynoso-Campos, Julieta Benítez-Malvido, Rene Torres-Ricario, Andrés I. Villarreal, Jorge E. Valenzuela-González, Zachary Hajian-Forooshani, Isaías Chairez-Hernández, Irene Alcalá-Martínez, Jorge Víctor Horta-Vega, Citlalli Castillo-Guevara, Robert W. Jones, Ana Paola Martínez-Falcón, José Luis Navarrete-Heredia, Gibrán Renoy Pérez-Toledo, Rosamond Coates, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Miguel Angel Soto-Cárdenas, Dora L. Martínez-Tlapa, Martha L. Baena, Martha Madora-Astudillo, Madai Rosas-Mejía, Instituto de Ecologia (INECOL), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, biodiversity hotspot, geographic range, [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio], Population, Biodiversity, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, species abundance, Animals, education, Endemism, Formicidae, Mexico, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, education.field_of_study, Myrmicinae, biology, Ecology, Ants, 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology, Incidence, Mexican fauna, 15. Life on land, Formicinae, species incidence, biology.organism_classification, Hymenoptera, Biota, Biodiversity hotspot, Ponerinae, inventory, sampling methods, Taxon, Geography
Abstract: Mexico is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with an important proportion of endemism mainly because of the convergence of the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographic regions, which generate great diversity and species turnover at different spatial scales. However, most of our knowledge of the Mexican ant biota is limited to a few well-studied taxa, and we lack a comprehensive synthesis of ant biodiversity information. For instance, most of the knowledge available in the literature on Mexican ant fauna refers only to species lists by states, or is focused on only a few regions of the country, which prevents the study of several basic and applied aspects of ants, from diversity and distribution to conservation. Our aims in this data paper are therefore (1) to compile all the information available regarding ants across the Mexican territory, and (2) to identify major patterns in the gathered data set and geographic gaps in order to direct future sampling efforts. All records were obtained from raw data, including both unpublished and published information. After exhaustive filtering and updating information and synonyms, we compiled a total of 21,731 records for 887 ant species distributed throughout Mexico from 1894 to 2018. These records were concentrated mainly in the states of Chiapas (n = 6,902, 32.76%) and Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (n = 4,329, 19.92%), which together comprise half the records. The subfamily with the highest number of records was Myrmicinae (n = 10,458 records, 48.12%), followed by Formicinae (n = 3,284, 15.11%) and Ponerinae (n = 1,914, 8.8%). Most ant records were collected in the Neotropical region of the country (n = 12,646, 58.19%), followed by the Mexican transition zone (n = 5,237, 24.09%) and the Nearctic region (n = 3,848, 17.72%). Native species comprised 95.46% of the records (n = 20,745). To the best of our knowledge, this is the most complete data set available to date in the literature for the country. We hope that this compilation will encourage researchers to explore different aspects of the population and community research of ants at different spatial scales, and to aid in the establishment of conservation policies and actions. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using its data for publications or teaching events.
Published: 2019
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24. Individual Traits of Social Behavior in Ants

Author: Pierre Jaisson, Dominique Fresneau, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Biology
Published: 2019
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25. Opportunistic Predation by Leaf-Cutting Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on a Wounded Baird's Tapir (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) in Mexico

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Jonathan Pérez-Flores, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, media_common.quotation_subject, Foraging, Zoology, Insect, Hymenoptera, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Predation, biology.animal, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, media_common, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Herbivore, biology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, fungi, food and beverages, Vertebrate, Atta cephalotes, biology.organism_classification, 010602 entomology, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Insect Science, Tapir
Abstract: Notwithstanding their specialized herbivorous diet, leaf-cutting ants opportunistically exploit temporary resources such as insect or vertebrate carcasses. We report on the first case of attine workers, Atta cephalotes (L.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), foraging on the scar tissues of a living vertebrate, a wounded female Baird's tapir, Tapirus bairdii (Gill) (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Tapiridae). We put forward 2, not mutually exclusive, hypotheses to explain such behavior: (1) utilization by the leaf-cutting ants of these tissues as a resource that provides rare essential nutrients, and (2) opportunistic sampling of polymicrobial communities associated with the skin of the wounded animal in search of new strains of their associated actinobacteria.
Published: 2019
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26. Uncovering species boundaries in the Neotropical ant complexEctatomma ruidum(Ectatomminae) under the presence of nuclear mitochondrial paralogues

Author: Alejandro Zaldívar-Riverón, D. A. Dubovikoff, Reina Gabriela Aguilar-Velasco, Chantal Poteaux, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Rubi N. Meza-Lázaro, Coleccion Nacional de Insectos, Instituto de Biologıa, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Paris 13 (UP13)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU), LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Université Paris 13 (UP13), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Department of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University
Subjects: [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Mitochondrial DNA, Nuclear gene, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Cytochrome b, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Species diversity, Zoology, Locus (genetics), Biodiversity, Interspecific competition, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 03 medical and health sciences, 030104 developmental biology, Taxon, Animal Science and Zoology, Indel, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Taxonomy
Abstract: Nuclear mitochondrial (mt) paralogues (numts) are non-functional fragments of mtDNA integrated into the nuclear genome that can overestimate the number of species in analyses based on mtDNA sequences. As numts have relatively slow mutation rates, they can pass undetected by conventional procedures such as inspecting for internal stop codons, indels or apparent polymorphism in chromatograms. Species boundaries based on mtDNA markers therefore require a thorough assessment of numts, especially in insects, where this phenomenon appears to be relatively frequent. Ectatomma ruidum is a widely distributed Neotropical ant species that is distributed from northern Mexico to northern Brazil. Previous behavioural and molecular evidence suggests that this species actually represents a composite taxon. Here we assessed the species boundaries in E. ruidum based on two mt (COI, cyt b) and one nuclear (H3) marker, as well as on external morphology. Ancient and recent mt paralogues were detected in several specimens, although pre-PCR dilution of DNA template helped to recover most of the mt orthologues. Based on the congruence found between our species delineation obtained from the mt genealogies and the discriminated morphospecies, we propose that E. ruidum is actually composed of at least three species. Two of these species have a wide geographical distribution in the Neotropics, whereas the remaining one was restricted to localities situated near the Pacific coast in south-east Mexico. We also found extensive intra- and interspecific variation in the barcoding locus. Moreover, the nuclear evidence suggests the existence of hybrids between two of these species in Oaxaca, south-east Mexico. This study agrees with previous studies of other closely related animal taxa, which have revealed a complex evolutionary history and overlooked species diversity in the latter region.
Published: 2016
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27. Fine-tuned intruder discrimination favors ant parasitoidism

Author: Franklin H. Rocha, Yann Hénaut, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Javier Valle-Mora, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), ECOSUR Unidad Tapachula, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and LACHAUD, Jean-Paul
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, 0301 basic medicine, Life Cycles, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Wasps, Social Sciences, 01 natural sciences, Predation, Parasitoid, Habits, Larvae, Nest, Sociology, Filter Paper, Psychology, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Multidisciplinary, biology, Animal Behavior, Weevil, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Eukaryota, Agriculture, Myrmecophily, ANT, Insects, Laboratory Equipment, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Animal Sociality, Social Systems, Medicine, Insect Pests, Engineering and Technology, Biological Assay, Research Article, Ectatomma tuberculatum, Arthropoda, Science, Zoology, Equipment, Isoptera, 010603 evolutionary biology, Host-Parasite Interactions, Nesting Habits, 03 medical and health sciences, Pests, Animals, Eucharitidae, Arthropods, Behavior, ved/biology, Ants, Organisms, Biology and Life Sciences, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, biology.organism_classification, Invertebrates, Hymenoptera, 030104 developmental biology, Weevils, Developmental Biology, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: A diversity of arthropods (myrmecophiles) thrives within ant nests, many of them unmolested though some, such as the specialized Eucharitidae parasitoids, may cause direct damage to their hosts. Ants are known to discriminate between nestmates and non-nestmates, but whether they recognize the strength of a threat and their capacity to adjust their behavior accordingly have not been fully explored. We aimed to determine whether Ectatomma tuberculatum ants exhibited specific behavioral responses to potential or actual intruders posing different threats to the host colony and to contribute to an understanding of complex ant-eucharitid interactions. Behavioral responses differed significantly according to intruder type. Ants evicted intruders that represented a threat to the colony's health (dead ants) or were not suitable as prey items (filter paper, eucharitid parasitoid wasps, non myrmecophilous adult weevils), but killed potential prey (weevil larvae, termites). The timing of detection was in accordance with the nature and size of the intruder: corpses (a potential source of contamination) were detected faster than any other intruder and transported to the refuse piles within 15 min. The structure and complexity of behavioral sequences differed among those intruders that were discarded. Workers not only recognized and discriminated between several distinct intruders but also adjusted their behavior to the type of intruder encountered. Our results confirm the previously documented recognition capabilities of E. tuberculatum workers and reveal a very fine-tuned intruder discrimination response. Colony-level prophylactic and hygienic behavioral responses through effective removal of inedible intruders appears to be the most general and flexible form of defense in ants against a diverse array of intruders. However, this generalized response to both potentially lethal and harmless intruders might have driven the evolution of ant-eucharitid interactions, opening a window for parasitoid attack and allowing adult parasitoid wasps to quickly leave the natal nest unharmed.
Published: 2019
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28. Context dependent life-history shift in Macrodinychus sellnicki mites attacking a native ant host in Colombia

Author: Hans Klompen, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Inge Armbrecht, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Guy Beugnon, Chantal Poteaux, Carlos Santamaría, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Ohio State University [Columbus] (OSU), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Université Paris 13 (UP13), Department of Biology, Universidad del Valle, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0301 basic medicine, Male, Behavioural ecology, Nylanderia, Zoology, lcsh:Medicine, Context (language use), Colombia, Article, Parasitoid, Host-Parasite Interactions, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Nest, Mite, Animals, Parasites, Ectatomma, lcsh:Science, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Life Cycle Stages, Mites, Multidisciplinary, biology, Invasive species, Host (biology), Ants, [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE], lcsh:R, Biodiversity, biology.organism_classification, Pupa, [SDV.BA.ZI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Invertebrate Zoology, 030104 developmental biology, Ecological networks, lcsh:Q, Female, 030217 neurology & neurosurgery, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Ant parasitoidism has been reported in seven of the 26 recognized species of the mite genus Macrodinychus (Machrodynichidae). Macrodynichus sellnicki, previously reported as a parasitoid of the invasive ant Nylanderia fulva in Colombia, is now reported, in the same region, as attacking a native host, Ectatomma sp. 2 (E. ruidum complex). The mite develops within the protective silk cocoon of an Ectatomma pupa and waits for the emergence of the young ant before leaving the cocoon, unmolested. Overall nest prevalence was relatively high (34.6% of the 52 nests containing cocoons) but pupae prevalence was low (4.0%, n = 1401 cocoons). Mite life-history (parasite or parasitoid) was context dependent, shifting according to the intensity of the attack on a same host. Contrary to the strictly parasitoidic association of M. sellnicki with N. fulva, single mite attacks against E. ruidum did not result in host killing and solitary M. sellnicki (78.6% of the cases) behaved as parasites. However, in 21.4% of the attacks (0.9% of all available host pupae) more than one mite was involved and behaved as parasitoids, draining the host of its internal fluids and killing it. This is the first association of a macrodinychid mite with a species of the subfamily Ectatomminae, and the first ant associated mite for which such a context dependent life-style shift is described.
Published: 2018
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29. An unusual, but not unexpected, evolutionary step taken by syrphid flies: the first record of true primary parasitoidism of ants by Microdontinae

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Menno Reemer, Jean-Paul Lachaud, and Mark A. Jervis
Subjects: Arboreal locomotion, Ecology, Tachinidae, Microdontinae, Hoverfly, Biology, biology.organism_classification, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Brood, Predation, Parasitoid, Phoridae
Abstract: Parasitoidism of ants by flies is known only for Phoridae and Tachinidae. We report the first record of a hoverfly (Syrphidae, Microdontinae, Hypselosyrphus) acting as a true primary parasitoid of ants. Previously, larvae of Microdontinae were known only as obligate predators of ant brood. This is also the first host record for any Hypselosyrphus species, the first reliable record of an association between a syrphid fly and a ponerine ant, and the first record of a dipteran parasitoid developing upon the immature stages of ants. We reared adults of Hypselosyrphus trigonus from cocoons of the arboreal ponerine ant, Pachycondyla villosa, nesting in Aechmea bracteata bromeliads in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, and we succeeded in determining various aspects of the parasitoid's life history. The findings obtained in the present study provide novel insights into the evolutionary transformation and diversification of the feeding habits of microdontine syrphid larvae, from an obligatory, specific predatory association with the ant brood, to parasitoidism of ant prepupae. We also highlight the need for more detailed studies of the interactions of arboreal ants and their parasites. We conclude with an overview of the evolutionary transitions and diversification of larval feeding habits that have taken place within the family Syrphidae. © 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 111, 462–472.
Published: 2013
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30. The role of microgynes in the reproductive strategy of the neotropical ant Ectatomma ruidum

Author: Jean-Christophe Lenoir, Dominique Fresneau, Alejandro Nettel, Chantal Poteaux, Jean-Paul Lachaud, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte UMR7261 (IRBI), Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Paris 13 (UP13)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Université Paris 13 (UP13)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ectatomma tuberculatum, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Molecular Sequence Data, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Population, Zoology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Nest, Animals, education, Polygyny, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, reproductive and urinary physiology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Isolation by distance, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Tropical Climate, education.field_of_study, Ectatomma parasiticum, biology, Ants, ved/biology, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Reproduction, Inquiline, Genetic Variation, General Medicine, Cytochromes b, biology.organism_classification, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 010602 entomology, Genetics, Population, Biological dispersal, Female
Abstract: Miniaturized queens, microgynes, are regarded as an alternative reproductive strategy sparsely present through the ant world. The described roles of miniaturized queens include alternative short-distance dispersal morphs, an adaptation to polygyny and inquiline parasites. Some of these inquiline parasite microgynes have been described as a separate species from their host. In the poneromorph group, miniaturized queens are only reported in two Mexican populations of two Ectatomminae: Ectatomma tuberculatum, in which small queens represent an inquiline species (Ectatomma parasiticum) and Ectatomma ruidum. E. ruidum presents apparently facultative polygyny with microgynes. We used mitochondrial DNA markers and newly developed microsatellite loci to investigate the status as well as the role of microgynes in E. ruidum. We confirmed that microgynes and macrogynes are from the same species. This species is almost exclusively monogynous and monoandrous, supernumerary dealate queens of both types being actually daughters of the mother queen. An apparently polygynous nest was more often headed by a macrogyne than a microgyne. We didn't find any inbreeding or isolation by distance in the studied population, indicating that new gynes are inseminated by unrelated males and can establish a new nest far from their natal nest. However, re-adoption of daughter queens seems to be the rule and rate of microgyny appears to be linked to nest density and environmental factors.
Published: 2011
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31. The hunting behavior of the African ponerine ant Pachycondyla pachyderma

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Alain Dejean, Ecologie des forêts de Guyane (ECOFOG), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Myriapoda, Isoptera, Hymenoptera, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Predation, 03 medical and health sciences, Behavioral Neuroscience, Arachnida, Animals, Bites and Stings, Predator, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 030304 developmental biology, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0303 health sciences, biology, Ant Venoms, Ants, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Body Weight, Feeding Behavior, General Medicine, biology.organism_classification, Aculeata, Predatory Behavior, Female, Animal Science and Zoology, Centipede, Tandem running, Pachycondyla
Abstract: The hunting behavior of the African ponerine ant Pachycondyla pachyderma , a semi-specialized centipede predator, appears well adapted to this kind of prey and shows a graded complexity according to the difficulty it has in overwhelming prey. Small prey (5-to-8-mm-long termites) were detected by contact and seized by the thorax while larger prey (≥30-mm-long centipedes) were frequently detected from a distance and seized by the anterior-most part of their body. Termites and 30-mm-long lithobiomorph centipedes were not always stung, whereas stinging and even repeated stinging was needed for 50-mm-long geophilomorphs and scolopendromorphs. Moreover, overwhelming wide and heavy scolopendromorphs, which have better defensive abilities, involved the use of additional behaviors allowing the workers to capture them safely: venom spreading, and a peculiar stinging posture, the “fatal embrace”. Here the workers seize scolopendromorphs by an antenna or by one of their first legs, wrap themselves around the prey while maintaining their grip with their mandibles and legs, and slowly inject venom into the prey's ventral surface. Workers retrieve small prey solitarily while, for large geophilomorphs and scolopendromorphs, nestmates can be recruited at short range or even at long range through tandem running.
Published: 2011
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32. Individual Variability, Social Structure and Division of Labour in the Ponerine Ant Ectatomma ruidum Roger (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Dominique Fresneau, Bruno Corbara, Laboratoire Microorganismes : Génome et Environnement (LMGE), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I (UdA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université de Toulouse (UT)-Université de Toulouse (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Paris 13 (UP13)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Université Paris 13 (UP13), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and LACHAUD, Jean-Paul
Subjects: [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, biology, Ectatomma ruidum, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 05 social sciences, Hymenoptera, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Formicoidea, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Aculeata, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, Animal Science and Zoology, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Sociology, Social organization, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Division of labour
Abstract: The social organization of an Ectatomma ruidum colony was investigated by individually marking all members and recording their behaviour using an automatic photographic technique. A hierarchical cluster analysis was used to determine functional groups describing this society. We then studied intragroup variability of the individual profiles and showed that there are different, complementary levels of approach to the division of labour in a society.
Published: 2010
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33. Impact of natural parasitism by two eucharitid wasps on a potential biocontrol agent ant in southeastern Mexico

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), and Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)
Subjects: [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0106 biological sciences, education.field_of_study, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, fungi, Population, Biological pest control, food and beverages, Parasitism, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Pupa, Chemical ecology, 010602 entomology, Nest, Sympatric speciation, Insect Science, Biological dispersal, education, Agronomy and Crop Science, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Eucharitids are specialized parasitoids of ants. The biology, life cycle and chemical ecology are known for a number of species, but the study of the impact of eucharitid wasps upon their ant hosts has been seldom addressed. Here, we determine the prevalence of the parasitism of two sympatric Kapala species upon a population of the neotropical ant Ectatomma ruidum, along a 12-month sampling period. Adult and immature parasitoids were present in the nests all year round, and several cases of superparasitism were observed. Parasitism varied strongly among the nests for any collecting date and among collecting dates, but the prevalence of Kapala parasitoids increased significantly during the rainy season, and the probability for a nest of being parasitized was positively correlated with colony size, particularly with cocoon number. At the population scale, more than 28% of all E. ruidum pupae produced during the ant reproductive and dispersal period (June) were infested. Our results are discussed from the point of view of the impact of these parasitoids on the colonies of E. ruidum, a potential biocontrol agent in coffee and cocoa plantations in southeastern Mexico.
Published: 2009
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34. Macrodinychus mites as parasitoids of invasive ants: an overlooked parasitic association

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Hans Klompen, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ohio State University [Columbus] (OSU), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and LACHAUD, Jean-Paul
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Biological pest control, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Article, Parasitoid, Host-Parasite Interactions, Mite, Animals, Parasites, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Mites, Multidisciplinary, biology, Ecology, Host (biology), Ants, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, fungi, food and beverages, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, Feeding Behavior, biology.organism_classification, Myrmecophily, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 010602 entomology, Larva, Phoresis, Biological dispersal, Paratrechina, Introduced Species, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Mites are frequent ant symbionts, yet the exact nature of their interactions with their hosts is poorly known. Generally, myrmecophilous mites show adaptations for dispersal through phoresis, but species that lack such an adaptation may have evolved unusual specialized relationships with their hosts. The immature stages of Macrodinychus multispinosus develop as ectoparasitoids of pupae of the invasive ant Paratrechina longicornis. Feeding stages show regressed locomotor appendages. These mites complete their development on a single host, sucking all of its body content and therefore killing it. Locally high proportions of parasitized host pupae suggest that M. multispinosus could serve as a biological control agent. This is the ninth species of Macrodinychus reported as ant parasite, and the third known as parasitoid of invasive ants, confirming a unique habit in the evolution of mite feeding strategies and suggesting that the entire genus might be parasitic on ants. Several mites’ characteristics, such as their protective morphology, possible viviparity, lack of a specialized stage for phoretic dispersal, and low host specificity, combined with both the general low aggressiveness of invasive P. longicornis towards other ants and its possible susceptibility to generalist ectoparasites would account for the host shift in native macrodinychid mites.
Published: 2016
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35. Biogeography, cryptic diversity, and queen dimorphism evolution of the Neotropical ant genus Ectatomma Smith, 1958 (Formicidae, Ectatomminae)

Author: Dominique Fresneau, Alejandro Nettel-Hernanz, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Chantal Poteaux, Román A. López-Muñoz, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), and Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Université Paris 13 (UP13)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0303 health sciences, Species complex, Biogeography, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Biodiversity, Zoology, Morphology (biology), Biology, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, 03 medical and health sciences, Monophyly, Common species, Genus, Ectatomma, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 030304 developmental biology
Abstract: Due to its high biodiversity and its complex climatic and geological history, the Neotropical region has caught the attention of evolutionary and conservation biologists. The Neotropics have an understudied and probably extensive cryptic diversity, stemming from old lineages that have persisted through time with highly similar morphology or from new morphologically undifferentiated sibling species. The wide-ranging Neotropical ant genus Ectatomma currently has only 15 described species, some of which present limited distribution. These ants provide an excellent system for the study of diversification and cryptic diversity in the Neotropics. Ectatomma also displays queen-size dimorphism in some northern populations of its two most common species: a case of true microgyny and a recently described parasitic species. We performed a phylogenetic and biogeographic analysis of Ectatomma species using two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear gene. We also explored the relationship between the history of the genus and the appearance of miniaturized queens. Our analysis recovered a monophyletic Ectatomma that originated in the Parana region of South America. We recorded three likely events of colonization of the Caribbean–Mesoamerican region. We also detected ample evidence of cryptic divergence that deserves a full taxonomic revision of the genus. Miniature queens—microgynes and parasites—represent two independent evolutionary events that appeared in the recent history of the genus.
Published: 2015
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36. Local and Landscape Drivers of Ant Parasitism in a Coffee Landscape

Author: Aldo De la Mora, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Stacy M. Philpott, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of California [Santa Cruz] (UCSC), University of California, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of California [Santa Cruz] (UC Santa Cruz), and University of California (UC)
Subjects: eucharitidae, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Wasps, coffee, Parasitism, Coffea, Nest, Animals, Eucharitidae, Mexico, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Ecosystem, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, vegetation complexity, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Ecology, biology, Ants, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Agriculture, Vegetation, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, 15. Life on land, biology.organism_classification, formicidae, Ponerinae, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Habitat, Insect Science, Entomology, Zoology, Pachycondyla, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Parasitism of ants that nest in rotting wood by eucharitid wasps was studied in order to examine whether habitat and season influence ant parasitism, vegetation complexity and agrochemical use correlate with ant parasitism, and whether specific local and landscape features of agricultural landscapes correlate with changes in ant parasitism. In a coffee landscape, 30 coffee and 10 forest sites were selected in which local management (e.g., vegetation, agrochemical use) and landscape features (e.g., distance to forest, percent of rustic coffee nearby) were characterized. Rotten logs were sampled and ant cocoons were collected from logs and cocoons were monitored for parasitoid emergence. Sixteen ant morphospecies in three ant subfamilies (Ectatomminae, Ponerinae, and Formicinae) were found. Seven ant species parasitized by two genera of Eucharitidae parasitoids (Kapala and Obeza) were reported and some ant-eucharitid associations were new. According to evaluated metrics, parasitism did not differ with habitat (forest, high-shade coffee, low-shade coffee), but did increase in the dry season for Gnamptogenys ants. Parasitism increased with vegetation complexity for Gnamptogenys and Pachycondyla and was high in sites with both high and low agrochemical use. Two landscape variables and two local factors positively correlated with parasitism for some ant genera and species. Thus, differences in vegetation complexity at the local and landscape scale and agrochemical use in coffee landscapes alter ecological interactions between parasitoids and their ant hosts.
Published: 2015
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37. Influence of task switching costs on colony homeostasis

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Raphaël Jeanson, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Population Density, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0303 health sciences, Task switching, Operations research, Behavior, Animal, Ecology, Ants, Patrolling, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, General Medicine, Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Models, Biological, 03 medical and health sciences, Nest, Animals, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Division of labour, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, 030304 developmental biology
Abstract: In social insects, division of labour allows colonies to optimise the allocation of workers across all available tasks to satisfy colony requirements. The maintenance of stable conditions within colonies (homeostasis) requires that some individuals move inside the nest to monitor colony needs and execute unattended tasks. We developed a simple theoretical model to explore how worker mobility inside the nest and task switching costs influence the maintenance of stable levels of task-associated stimuli. Our results indicate that worker mobility in large colonies generates important task switching costs and is detrimental to colony homeostasis. Our study suggests that the balance between benefits and costs associated with the mobility of workers patrolling inside the nest depends on colony size. We propose that several species of ants with diverse life-history traits should be appropriate to test the prediction that the proportion of mobile workers should vary during colony ontogeny.
Published: 2015
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38. Biology and Behavior of Kapala (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) Attacking Ectatomma, Gnamptogenys, and Pachycondyla (Formicidae: Ectatomminae and Ponerinae) in Chiapas, Mexico

Author: John M. Heraty, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Andrew Carmichael, and Jean-Paul Lachaud
Subjects: Larva, Aculeata, biology, Ecology, Insect Science, Eucharitidae, Ectatomminae, Hymenoptera, Ectatomma, biology.organism_classification, Pachycondyla, Parasitoid
Abstract: Kapala (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) are among the most frequently collected chalcidoid wasps from the Neotropics, but general information about their host plants, behavior, and life history is scarce. A new species, Kapala izapa n. sp., parasitizing Ectatomma ruidum Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is described from Chiapas, Mexico, with a general account of its biology. Field observations on the behavior of adults of Kapala iridicolor (Cameron), which also attack E. ruidum, Gnamptogenys regularis Mayr, Gnamptogenys sulcata (Fr. Smith), Gnamptogenys striatula Mayr, and Pachycondyla stigma (F.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), are included. Immature stages of Kapala izapa n. sp. follow the general morphology and behavior described for other eucharitids known to attack Ectatomminae and Ponerinae. More than one parasitoid can complete development on a single host larva. K. iridicolor females were observed laying masses of eggs on undeveloped flower buds of Melampodium divaricatum (L.C. Richard) D.C. (Aster...
Published: 2006
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39. Diversidade genética e fenotípica no gênero Ectatomma

Author: Chantal Poteaux, Prada-Achardi, Fabián C., Fernando Fernández, Jean-Paul Lachaud, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Jacques H.C. Delabie, Rodrigo M. Feitosa, José E. Serrão, Cléa S.F. Mariano, Jonathan D. Majer, Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (LEEC), Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Université Paris 13 (UP13), Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Jacques H.C. Delabie, Rodrigo M. Feitosa, José E. Serrão, Cléa S.F. Mariano, and Jonathan D. Majer
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 010602 entomology, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS
Abstract: International audience
Published: 2015

40. Insect gladiators: competitive interactions between three species of bethylid wasps attacking the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Ian C.W. Hardy, Jean-Paul Lachaud, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), University of Nottingham, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, UK (UON), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0106 biological sciences, biology, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, media_common.quotation_subject, Biological pest control, Hymenoptera, Berry, Insect, Interspecific competition, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Parasitoid, 010602 entomology, Bethylidae, Insect Science, Agonistic behaviour, Agronomy and Crop Science, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, media_common
Abstract: The coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), originates from Africa and has since invaded all major coffee growing areas in the world. The parasitoid species, Cephalonomia stephanoderis Betrem and Prorops nasuta Waterston (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) have been introduced into many countries as biological control agents. Recently, a further bethylid, Cephalonomia hyalinipennis Ashmead, was found naturally attacking the coffee berry borer in southern Mexico. The biologies of these three species are broadly similar. We evaluate the potential for interspecific competition by observing direct behavioral contests for hosts occurring between adult female parasitoids. We show that such contests readily occur and the loser is frequently killed. Prior ownership of hosts and ovipositional experience influence contest outcome, probably via the dynamics of egg maturation. There are also competitive asymmetries between these species: C. stephanoderis is generally the most successful. We discuss the implications of interspecific competition on the question of the best number and combination of natural enemy species for biological pest control.
Published: 2002
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41. Fine Individual Specialization and Elitism among Workers of the Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum for a Highly Specific Task: Intruder Removal

Author: Franklin H. Rocha, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Javier Valle-Mora, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ECOSUR Unidad Tapachula, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: Ectatomma tuberculatum, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, ved/biology, Ecology, Weevil, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Zoology, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, Biology, biology.organism_classification, ANT, Task (project management), Parasitoid wasp, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Nest, Specialization (functional), Animal Science and Zoology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Elitism, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Insect societies are characterized by a relatively sophisticated division of labor; they form tightly knit groups that must effectively exclude non-members from the colony. However, the Neotropical predatory ant Ectatomma tuberculatum can harbor several specific myrmecophiles and, in particular, various eucharitid parasitoid wasp species. Adult wasps eclose in the host nests and are removed by worker ants without harm. Previous observations suggest that only a few workers perform this task. To test this hypothesis, we introduced different types of intruders, live and dead, pentane-washed broad-nosed grain weevil individuals (Caulophilus oryzae) and dead, pentane-washed eucharitids (Dilocantha lachaudii), into laboratory colonies containing individually marked workers. We recorded all encounters and behaviors until the intruders were removed. Certain workers removed intruders more frequently than expected by chance. The number of encounters with an intruder was positively correlated with the number of removals performed by the workers. For each nest, a small group of workers was identified as specialized in intruder removal. A subset of very committed workers in the specialists group that performed up to 57% of removals qualified as hyperspecialists or elite workers. The behavioral sequences differed based on the type and condition of the intruder: the sequence was more complex and included numerous aggressive behaviors (mandibular strikes and attempts at stinging) when workers encountered a live weevil. In contrast, the behavioral sequences with dead, pentane-washed insects were characterized by numerous detections through contact that did not lead to rejection and by the intruders simply being seized and removed from the nest. Overall, the data show that the ants discriminated between live and pentane-washed intruders and adjusted their behavior accordingly. This is the first demonstration in ants of both behavioral specialization and hyperspecialization in intruder removal.
Published: 2014
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42. How to escape from the host nest: imperfect chemical mimicry in eucharitid parasitoids and exploitation of the ants' hygienic behavior

Author: Juan Carlos Bartolo-Reyes, Alain Lenoir, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Claudia M. Quiroa-Montalván, Leopoldo Cruz-López, Jean-Paul Lachaud, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Institut de recherche sur la biologie de l'insecte UMR7261 (IRBI), Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and Université de Tours-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ectatomma tuberculatum, Male, Physiology, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Wasps, Chemical deception, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Host-Parasite Interactions, Nesting Behavior, Nest, Species Specificity, Nestmate recognition, Recognition system, Animals, Hexanes, Eucharitidae, Ectatomma, Formicidae, biology, Host (biology), Ecology, ved/biology, Ants, biology.organism_classification, Brood, Hydrocarbons, [SDV.BA.ZI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Invertebrate Zoology, Aggression, 010602 entomology, Insect Science, Female, Chemical mimicry, Cuticular hydrocarbons
Abstract: International audience; Communication in ants is based to a great extent on chemical compounds. Recognition of intruders is primarily based on cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile matching but is prone to being cheated. Eucharitid wasps are specific parasitoids of the brood of ants; the immature stages are either well integrated within the colony or are protected within the host cocoons, whereas adult wasps at emergence must leave their host nest to reproduce and need to circumvent the ant recognition system to escape unscathed. The behavioral interactions between eucharitid wasps and workers of their host, the Neotropical ant Ectatomma tuberculatum, are characterized. In experimental bioassays, newly emerged parasitoids were not violently aggressed. They remained still and were grabbed by ants upon contact and transported outside the nest; host workers were even observed struggling to reject them. Parasitoids were removed from the nest within five minutes, and most were unharmed, although two wasps (out of 30) were killed during the interaction with the ants. We analyzed the CHCs of the ant and its two parasitoids, Dilocantha lachaudii and Isomerala coronata, and found that although wasps shared all of their compounds with the ants, each wasp species had typical blends and hydrocarbon abundance was also species specific. Furthermore, the wasps had relatively few CHCs compared to E. tuberculatum (22–44% of the host components), and these were present in low amounts. Wasps, only partially mimicking the host CHC profile, were immediately recognized as alien and actively removed from the nest by the ants. Hexane-washed wasps were also transported to the refuse piles, but only after being thoroughly inspected and after most of the workers had initially ignored them. Being recognized as intruder may be to the parasitoids' advantage , allowing them to quickly leave the natal nest, and therefore enhancing the fitness of these very short lived parasitoids. We suggest that eucharitids take advantage of the hygienic behavior of ants to quickly escape from their host nests.
Published: 2014
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43. The role of learning in risk-avoidance strategies during spider–ant interactions

Author: Yann Hénaut, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Salima Machkour-M’Rabet, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: Risk, 0106 biological sciences, Ectatomma tuberculatum, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Context (language use), Biology, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Predation, Avoidance Learning, Animals, 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences, 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Spider, Ants, Ecology, ved/biology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, 05 social sciences, Nephila clavipes, Spiders, biology.organism_classification, ANT, Biting, Sympatric speciation, Predatory Behavior, Female, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Cognitive abilities used by arthropods, particularly predators, when interacting in a natural context have been poorly studied. Two neotropical sympatric predators, the golden silk spider Nephila clavipes and the ectatommine ant Ectatomma tuberculatum, were observed in field conditions where their interactions occurred regularly due to the exploitation of the same patches of vegetation. Repeated presentations of E. tuberculatum workers ensnared in their web triggered a progressive decrease in the capture response of N. clavipes. All the spiders that stopped trying to catch the ant on the second and/or third trial were individuals that had been bitten during a previous trial. Behavioural tests in natural field conditions showed that after a single confrontation with ant biting, spiders were able to discriminate this kind of prey more quickly from a defenceless prey (fruit flies) and to selectively and completely suppress their catching response. This one-trial aversive learning was still effective after 24 h. Likewise, E. tuberculatum workers entangled once on a N. clavipes web and having succeeded in escaping, learned to escape more quickly, breaking through the web by preferentially cutting spiral threads (sticky traps) rather than radial threads (stronger structural unsticky components) or pursuing the cutting of radials but doing it more quickly. Both strategies, based on a one-trial learning capability, obviously minimize the number of physical encounters between the two powerful opponents and may enhance their fitness by diminishing the risk of potential injuries resulting from predatory interactions.
Published: 2014
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44. Cuticular Hydrocarbons of Kapala sulcifacies (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) and Its Host, the Ponerine Ant Ectatomma ruidum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Author: Ralph W. Howard, Jean-Paul Lachaud, and Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud
Subjects: Aculeata, biology, Host (biology), Ectatomma ruidum, Insect Science, Cuticle, Botany, Eucharitidae, Hymenoptera, biology.organism_classification, ANT, Parasitoid
Abstract: Cuticular hydrocarbons from the ponerine ant Ectatomma ruidum Roger and a highly integrated eucharitid myrmecophile, Kapala sulcifacies (Cameron), associated with it, have been characterized. Ninety hydrocarbons were identified from the ant, 55 hydrocarbons from the female wasp and 54 hydrocarbons from the male wasp. The wasps and ants share 40 hydrocarbons. These shared 40 hydrocarbons represent 92.6% of their hydrocarbon composition for female Kapala, 84.3% for male Kapala and 67.7% for the ants. The wasps have a carbon number range of C27 to C35; the ants have a range of C23 to C35. Both species possess n-alkanes, C27 to C33 for the wasps, C23 to C34 for the ants. Both species also possess major quantities of Z-7- and Z-9 alkenes: C29 to C33 for the wasps; C23 to C35 for the ants. The female wasps possess a low amount of a conjugated C31 diene (neither the ants nor the male wasps possess this hydrocarbon), and the ants, but not the wasps, contain low quantities of nonconjugated dienes (carbon ...
Published: 2001
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45. Queen dimorphism and reproductive capacity in the ponerine ant, Ectatomma ruidum Roger

Author: Guillermo Ibarra-Núñez, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Bertrand Schatz, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Alex Cadena, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UM3), and El Colegio de la Frontera Sur unidad Chetumal
Subjects: [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 0106 biological sciences, Reproductive function, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, biology, Ecology, Ectatomma ruidum, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Zoology, Alate, Hymenoptera, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, ANT, Sexual dimorphism, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 010602 entomology, Aculeata, Biological dispersal, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Abstract: We report here the first case of queen dimorphism in a ponerine ant species. A total of 550 colonies of the Neotropical ponerine ant Ectatomma ruidum, from two natural populations in southeastern Mexico, were investigated for polymorphism and reproductive function within the queen caste. The distribution of different morphological traits (head and thorax widths, and scutum and alitrunk lengths) was shown to be bimodal. Thorax width and head width were significantly isometric for both macro- and microgynes and thorax proportions did not change with the category of the queen. Microgynes appear as an isometric reduction of the normal queens. On average, macrogynes were found to be approximately 20% larger in size and twice as heavy as microgynes (and up to three times heavier in terms of dry weight). Their wing surface was 72% greater. There was no difference between the two morphs in terms of their capacity to be inseminated and all dealate females present in natural colonies could be considered as true potentially reproductive queens whatever the class to which they belonged. Ovary size, number of ovarioles per ovary, and number of mature oocytes produced were significantly higher for macrogynes than for microgynes, but small queens were able to function as active egg-layers. However, the number of egg-laying individuals was significantly lower for this form, although egg-laying activity appeared to be independent of queen weight. Despite its markedly reduced reproductive capacity compared to macrogynes, the distribution of the microgyne form of E. ruidum in both studied populations was very broad, reaching one-third of all alate and dealate females and extending to one-third of all colonies. In 72.2% of the colonies where alate and/or dealate microgynes were present, both forms co-occurred. Fat content analysis results supported the idea that semi-claustral independent colony founding, typical for this species, would essentially be achieved by macrogynes, while microgynes would be adopted by established colonies. We argue that queen dimorphism in E. ruidum could represent an attractive alternative dispersal strategy for female sexuals. The small females may constitute an important reserve of potential reproductives at a very low energetic cost to the colony, the production of a macrogyne being about 7.5 times more costly than a microgyne. The significantly greater `wing surface/body weight' ratio of microgynes also suggests their greater capacity for dispersion. The combination of such a capacity for microgynes, along with their ability to contribute in the production of both female morphs, including the reproductively efficient macrogynes, would contribute to insuring genetic reassortment at the population level and could explain, in part, the ecological success of E. ruidum in Neotropical zones.
Published: 1999
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46. Eucharitid Parasitism of the Neotropical Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum: Parasitoid Co-occurrence, Seasonal Variation, and Multiparasitism1

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Jean-Paul Lachaud, José Antonio López-Méndez, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), and LACHAUD, Jean-Paul
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Ectatomma tuberculatum, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, ved/biology.organism_classification_rank.species, Population, Parasitism, Hymenoptera, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Parasitoid, Eucharitidae, education, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, education.field_of_study, biology, ved/biology, Host (biology), Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, biology.organism_classification, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 010602 entomology, Ectatomminae, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Multiparasitism is reported for the first time in Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Dilocantha lachaudii, Isomerala coronata, and Kapala sp. were found simultaneously attacking the same population of Ectatomma tuberculatum (Olivier) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae) in southern Mexico. Adults of D. lachaudii and I. coronata completed development on the same individual host on three occasions. The genus Kapala is reported for the first time as a parasitoid of E. tuberculatum, and I. coronata is reported in Mexico for the first time.
Published: 2006
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47. New Host Record for Camponotophilus delvarei (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), a Parasitoid of Microdontine Larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae), Associated with the Ant Camponotus sp. aff. textor

Author: Jean-Paul Lachaud, Michael W. Gates, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), Systematic Entomology Laboratory, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Weaver ant, Article Subject, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Parasitism, Hymenoptera, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Eurytomidae, Parasitoid, Nest, lcsh:Zoology, lcsh:QL1-991, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, biology, Ecology, [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Microdontinae, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, biology.organism_classification, Myrmecophily, 010602 entomology, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Insect Science, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Microdontine syrphid flies are obligate social parasites of ants. Larvae prey on ant brood whereas adults live outside the nests. Knowledge of their interaction with their host is often scarce, as it is information about their natural enemies. Here we report the first case of parasitism of a species of microdontine fly by a myrmecophilous eurytomid wasp. This is also the first host record forCamponotophilus delvareiGates, a recently described parasitic wasp discovered in Chiapas, Mexico, within the nests of the weaver ant,Camponotussp. aff.textorForel. Eleven pupal cases of a microdontine fly were found within a single nest of this ant, five of them being parasitized. Five adultC. delvareifemales were reared from a puparium and 29 female and 2 male pupae were obtained from another one. The eurytomid is a gregarious, primary ectoparasitoid of larvae and pupae of Microdontinae, its immature stages developing within the protective puparium of the fly. The species is synovigenic. Adult females likely locate and parasitize their hosts within the ant nest. As some species of Microdontinae are considered endangered, their parasitoids are likewise threatened and in need of accurate and urgent surveys in the future.
Published: 2013
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48. Erratum to: Biogeography, cryptic diversity, and queen dimorphism evolution of the Neotropical ant genus Ectatomma Smith, 1858 (Formicidae, Ectatomminae)

Author: Alejandro Nettel-Hernanz, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Dominique Fresneau, Román A. López-Muñoz, and Chantal Poteaux
Subjects: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Published: 2016
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49. Poneromorph Ants Associated with Parasitoid Wasps of the Genus Kapala Cameron (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) in French Guiana

Author: Philippe Cerdan, Jean-Paul Lachaud, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Environnement de Petit Saut, HYDRECO, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, Article Subject, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Fauna, Hymenoptera, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Parasitoid, Genus, lcsh:Zoology, Eucharitidae, lcsh:QL1-991, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, biology, Ecology, Host (biology), [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, Ant colony, biology.organism_classification, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, 010602 entomology, Pachycondyla verenae, Insect Science, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Eucharitid wasps are specific, specialized parasitoids of ants. The genusKapalaCameron is the most common in the Neotropics but few species are described, and information dealing with their biology, behavior and host associations is scarce. Numerous poneromorph ant colonies were inspected over 4 collection surveys in French Guiana. A diverse fauna of parasites and parasitoids was found, including mermithid nematodes, flies, eucharitids, and another gregarious endoparasitoid wasp. Five new host associations forKapalaare reported, all of them involving medium- to large-size poneromorph ant species from 4 genera:Ectatomma brunneumFr. Smith,Gnamptogenys tortuolosa(Fr. Smith),Odontomachus haematodus(L.),O. mayi Mann, andPachycondyla verenae(Forel). Three other associations involvingO. hastatus(Fabr.),P. apicalis(Latreille), andP. stigma(Fabr.), already reported for other countries but new for French Guiana, are confirmed. The data extend the number of hosts forKapalato 24 ant species from 7 genera. The high diversity of the ant host genera associated withKapala,combined with the fact that these ant genera are the most widely distributed among Neotropical poneromorph ants, could account for the dominant status of the genusKapalaamong the eucharitine wasps of Central and South America.
Published: 2012
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50. First Record of an Encyrtid Wasp (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) as a True Primary Parasitoid of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Author: Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud, John Noyes, Jean-Paul Lachaud, LACHAUD, Jean-Paul, ECOSUR Unidad Chetumal, EI Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT)-Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [Mexico] (CONACYT), The Natural History Museum [London] (NHM), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale - UMR5169 (CRCA), Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse (CHU Toulouse)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (UT3), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut des sciences du cerveau de Toulouse. (ISCT), and Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès (UT2J)-CHU Toulouse [Toulouse]-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Subjects: 0106 biological sciences, [SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Arboreal locomotion, [SDV.BA] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Ecology, Host (biology), [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology, Parasitism, Hymenoptera, [SDV.EE.IEO] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis, Biology, biology.organism_classification, 010603 evolutionary biology, 01 natural sciences, Parasitoid, Pupa, 010602 entomology, [SDV.EE] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment, Genus, Insect Science, True primary, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS, [SDV.EE.IEO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment/Symbiosis
Abstract: Numerous cases of associations of encyrtid wasps with ants have already been reported. In the majority of these cases, however, wasps are associated only indirectly with ants (interference associations) through primary parasitism of the trophobionts (Coccoidea), which are exploited and protected by ants. Suspected direct parasitism cases are unusual and no direct attack of encyrtids on ants has ever been demonstrated. Here we provide both a revised list of all known cases of associations between encyrtid wasps and ants, and a report of the first record of a true primary encyrtid parasitoid of ants. Of two colonies of the arboreal ponerine ant, Pachycondyla goeldii (Forel), examined from French Guiana, one had 3 pupae parasitized by males and females of a gregarious, minute encyrtid wasp species, identified as Blanchardiscus pollux Noyes, and 2 other cocoons presented evidence of pararasitism. This first host record for the genus Blanchardiscus, which has always been placed near other genera that ...
Published: 2012
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