Myrmecophily and Myrmecophagy of Attacobius lavape (Araneae: Corinnidae) on Solenopsis saevissima (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v66i4.4431Keywords:
fire ant, inquiline, social parasite, biological controlAbstract
Attacobius lavape, a small spider from the Corinnidae family, has been recently described living inside a fire ant colony of Solenopsis saevissima species in the municipality of Morrinhos, south region of the Goiás State, Brazil. Yet several aspects of this spider relationship with the host ant remain unknown. In this way, we performed an extension study to determine its local (Morrinhos) and regional (latitudinal transect) occurrence. We also investigated if the spider uses the host ant as a feeding source. For this, we established arenas with a known number of young and adult ant individuals plus one spider and observed the feeding rate for some determined time. Regarding local distribution, differently from most socially parasitic myrmecophiles, A. lavape showed high local infestation, being found in 47% of the colonies in the sites where the spider occurred, and high transmission, being found in 42% of the 12 collection sites. Regionally, among the 11 study sites, this species only occurred in the municipality of Morrinhos, but its distribution still needs to be verified in the north region. Attacobius lavape consumed eggs, larvae and pupae, confirming that the myrmecophily was explained by myrmecophagy. The spiders consumed eggs (not estimated), 4.45 ± 2.14 larvae and/or 3 ± 0.87 pupae per day. Considering that the mean abundance was approximately seven spiders per colony (extent 1-23), we foresee an impact of 35 larvae and/or 21 pupae consumed per day in each hosting colony. The possibility of consuming sexual eggs, larvae and pupae classifies A. lavape as a potential agent of biological control of S. saevissima.
Downloads
References
Ayres, M., Ayres, M. Jr, Ayres, D.L. & Santos, A.A.S. (2007). BioEstat: aplicações estatísticas nas áreas das ciências biomédicas. 5 ed. Belém: Sociedade Civil Mamirauá.
Bonaldo, A.B. (2000). Taxonomia da subfamília Corinninae (Araneae, Corinnidae) nas regiões Neotropical e Neártica. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, 89: 3-148. doi: 10.1590/S0073-47212000000200001
Bonaldo, A.B. & Brescovit, A.D. (2005). On new species of the Neotropical spider genus Attacobius Mello-Leitão, 1923 (Araneae, Corinnidae, Corinninae), with a cladistic analysis of the tribe Attacobiini. Insect Systematics and Evolution, 36: 35-56, doi: 10.1163/187631205788912804
Bonaldo, A.B., Pesquero, M.A. & Brescovit, A.D. (2018). On a new species of the spider genus Attacobius Mello-Leitão (Araneae: Corinnidae) from Brazilian Cerrado. Zootaxa, 4508: 446. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4508.3.10
Briano, J., Calcaterra, L. & Varone, L. (2012). Fire ants (Solenopsis spp.) and theirnatural enemies in southern South America. Psyche, Article ID 198084, 19 p., doi: 10.11 55/2012/198084
Ceccarelli, F.S. (2013). Ant-Mimicking spiders: strategies for living with social insects. Psyche, Article ID 839181, 6 p., doi: 10.1155/2013/839181
Costa, R.A. & Santos, F.O. (2010). Expansão agrícola e vulnerabilidade natural do meio físico no sul goiano. Revista Geografia em Atos, 10: 23-35.
Cushing, P.E. (1997). Myrmecomorphy and myrmecophily in spiders: a review. Florida Entomologist, 80: 165-193, doi: 10.2307/3495552
Cushing, P.E. (2012). Spider-ant associations: an updated review of myrmecomorphy, myrmecophily, and myrmecophagy in spiders. Psyche, Article ID 151989, 23 p. doi: 10.1155/2012/151989
Del-Claro, K. (2010). Introdução à ecologia comportamental: um manual para o estudo do comportamento animal. Rio de Janeiro: Technical Books.
Dettner, K. & Liepert, C. (1994).Chemical mimicry and camouflage. Annual Review of Entomology, 39: 129-154, doi: 10.1146/annurev.en.39.010194.001021
Edmunds, M. (1978). On the association between Myrmurachne spp. (Salticidae) and ants. Bulletin - British Arachnological Society, 4: 149-160.
Erthal Jr, M. & Tonhasca Jr, A. (2001). Attacobius attarum Spiders (Corinnidae): myrmecophilous predators of immature forms of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens (Formicidae). Biotropica, 33: 374-376. doi: 10.1646/0006-3606(2001) 033[0374:AASCMP]2.0.CO;2
Hamilton, W.D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour, I. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7: 1-16. doi: 10.1016/0022-5193(64)90038-4
Hamilton, W.D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour, II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7: 17-52. doi: 10.10 16/0022-5193(64)90039-6
Hölldobler, B. & Wilson, E.O. (1990). The Ants. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 732 p.
Ichinose, K., Rinaldi, I. & Forti, L.C. (2004). Winged leaf-cutting ants on nuptial flights used as transport by Attacobius spiders for dispersal. Ecological Entomology, 29: 628-631, doi: 10.1111/j.0307-6946.2004.00640.x
Kather, R., Drijfhout, F.P., Shemil,T.S. & Martin, S.J. (2015). Evidence for passive chemical camouflage in the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 41: 178-186. doi: 10.1007/s10886-015-0548-z
Lebrun, E.G., Plowes, R.M. & Gilbert, L.E. (2012). Imported fire ants near the edge of their range: disturbance and moisture determine prevalence and impact of an invasive social insect. Journal of Animal Ecology, 81: 884-895. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2012.01954.x
Markin, G.P. & Dillier, J.H. (1971). The seasonal life cycle of the imported fire ant, Solenopsis saevissima richteri, on the gulf coast of Mississippi. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 64: 562-565. doi: 10.1093/aesa/64.3.562
Markin, G.P., Dillier, J.H. & Collins, H.L. (1973).Growth and development of colonies of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 66: 803-808. doi: 10.1093/aesa/66.4.803
Noonan, G.R. (1982). Notes on interactions between the spider Eilicapuno (Gnaphosidae) and the ant Camponotusinca in the Peruvian Andes. Biotropical, 14: 145-148. doi: 10.2307/2387745
Pereira-Filho, J.M.B., Saturnino, R. & Bonaldo, A. (2018). Five new species and novel descriptions of opposed sexes of four species of the spider genus Attacobius (Araneae: Corinnidae). Zootaxa, 4462: 211. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4462.2.3
Pesquero, M.A. & Dias, A.M.P.M. (2004). New records of Orasemaxanthopus (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae) and Solenopsis daguerrei (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 64: 737. doi: 10.1590/S1519-69842004000400023
Pesquero, M.A. & Dias, A.M.P.M. (2011). Geographical transition zone of Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Pseudacteon fly parasitoids (Diptera: Phoridae) in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology, 40: 647-652. doi: 10.1590/S1519-566X2011000600003
Pitts, J.P., Camacho, G.P., Gotzek, D., Mchugh, J.V. & Ross, K.G. (2018). Revision of the fire ants of the Solenopsis saevissima species-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 120: 308-411. doi: 10.4289/0013-8797.120.2.308
Platnick, N.I. & Baptista, R.L.C. (1995). On the spider genus Attacobius (Araneae, Dionycha). American Museum of Natural History, no. 3120, 9 p.
Porter, S.D., Williams, D.F., Patterson, R.S. & Fowler, H.G. (1997). Intercontinental differences in the abundance of Solenopsis fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Escape from natural enemies? Environmental Entomology, 26: 373-384.
Thomas, A.J., Schonrogge, K. & Elmes, G.W. (2005). Specializations and host associations of social parasites of ants. In Fellowes, M.D.E., Holloway, G.J. & Rolff, J. (Eds.) Insect Evolutionary Ecology (pp. 479-518). UK: Royal Entomological Society, CABI Publishing.
Tschinkel, W.R. (2006). The fire ants. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
WSC (2019). World spider catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. http://wsc.nmbe.ch, version 18.5. (accessed: 25 jan, 2019).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Sociobiology is a diamond open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
eISSN 2447-8067
