Sciency Thoughts: Myrmecological associations

Showing posts with label Myrmecological associations. Show all posts

Monday, 23 May 2016

Laelaspis natanziensis: A new species of Laelapid Mite from Isfahan Province, Iran.

Laelapid Mites are a large and diverse group, including free-living carnivorous forms as well as both obligate and facultative parasites (species that feed only parasitically and species that are sometimes parasitic but can feed in other ways). Members of the group are also found in a variety of environments, including soil and leaf litter and the nests of vertebrate and invertebrate animals. The family takes its name from the genus Laelaspis, which is found in the nests of Ants, though exactly how members of this genus feed is unknown, with suggestions having been made that they feed on substances secreted by the Ants, smaller invertebrates living in the nests or even the eggs of the Ants.

In a paper published in the Persian Journal of Acarology on 15 January 2016, Elham Masoomi of the Department of Entomology at the Islamic Azad University, Omid Joharchi of the Young Researchers and Elite Club, also at the Islamic Azad University and Alireza Jalalizand, again of the Department of Entomology at the Islamic Azad University, describe a new species of Laelaspis from Natanz County in Isfahan Province, Iran.

The new species is named Laelaspis natanziensis, meaning 'from Natanz'. The Mites were extracted from soil associated with the nests of Ants of the genus Tetramorium. Females range from 532 to 545 μm in length and from 437 to 451μm in width, the single male discovered measured 413 by 312 μm.

Laelaspis natanziensis (female) Left: Dorsal view of idiosoma. Right: Ventral view of idiosoma. Masoomi et al. (2016).

Sunday, 20 December 2015

Pella tianmuensis: A new species of Myrmecophilic Aleocharine Rove Beetle from Zhejiang Province, China.

Aleocharine Rove Beetles are small Rove Beetles, Staphylinidae, found in terrestrial environments across the globe. Like other Rove Beetles they have greatly shortened elytra (the win cases of Beetles, formed from hardened and modified forewings that usually protect and cover the hindwings and abdomen) leaving much of the abdomen exposed. The largest Aleocharines are about 10 mm in length, but most are less than 5 mm and some as small as 1 mm. The majority of species are soil-dwelling predators, but many are Myrmecophiles, living in the nests of Ants.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 23 November 2015, Zhu-Qi Yan and Li-Zhen Li of the Department of Biology at Shanghai Normal University describe a new species of Aleocharine Rove Beetle from nests of the Ant in the West Tianmushan Natural Reserve in Zhejiang Province, China.

The new species is placed in the Myrmecophilous genus Pella and given the specific name tianmuensis, meaning 'from Tianmu' (Tianmushan means 'Tianmu Mountain'). The species is described from 17 male and 27 female specimens. They are 4.56–6.60 mm in length and dark reddish brown and black in colour with yellow markings on the elytra.

Pella tianmuensis in dorsal view. Scale bar is 0.5 mm. Yan & Li (2015).

Saturday, 10 October 2015

Awas gigas: A new species of Rove Beetle from Guangxi Province, China.

Rove Beetles, Staphylinidae, of the genus Awas are tiny Beetles with elongate heads and constricted waists found living in Ant's nests on the Malay Peninsula, in Taiwan and in continental China. The group is poorly understood, with three of the five described species being known only from a sngle specimen, and the remaining two from four and five individuals respectively.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 23 September 2015, Zi-Wei Yin, Jia-Wei Shen and Li-Zhen Li of the Department of Biology at Shanghai Normal University describe a new species of Awas Beetle from the Daoyao Shan Natural Reserve in Guanxi Province in southern China.

The new species is named Awas gigas, meaning 'large' on account of the body size of the genus, reaching slightly over 5 mm, which is far larger than any previously described species. The Beetle was first recorded in July 2014, when four specimens (two males and two females) where found in a nest made by Ants of the genus Pachycondyla nesting under decomposing wood in broad-leaved forest.The area was revisited in May 2015, and thirteen further specimens (one male, twelve female) were collected from several Ant's nests, all of members of the genus Pachycondyla.

Dorsal habitus of Awas gigas. (A) Male (B) Female. Scale bars are 1.0 mm. Yin et al. (2015).

Monday, 2 September 2013

A new species of myrmecophilous Rove Beetle from the Peruvian Amazon

Rove Beetles (Staphylinidae) are an unusual-looking group of Beetles, distinguished by their short wing cases, which makes them look rather unbeetle-like. They are a successful group, with over 46 000 described species and a fossil record that dates back to the Triassic. The Pselaphinae are a large group of small Rove Beetles, abundant throughout the tropics and temperate regions and found in leaf litter and sometimes Ants nests, those that live with Ants being referred to as myrmecophilous, or Ant-loving, species.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 20 March 2013, Joseph Parker of the Department of Genetics and Development at Columbia University, and Munetoshi Maruyama of the Kyushu University Museum, describe a new species of myrmecophilous Pselaphine Beetle from Satipo Province in the Peruvian Amazon.

The new species is named Jubogaster towai, where 'Jubogaster' is a combination of Jubus, another genus of Pselaphine Beetles which it resembles, and Trogaster, a second genus of Pselaphine Beetles, which genetic analysis suggests is a closer relative, and 'towai' honours Towa Shimada, a collector of myrmecophilous Beetles.

Jubogaster towai in (1) dorsal and (2) ventral views. Parker & Maruyama (2013).

Jubogaster towai is described from a single male specimen, found in a colony of Big-headed Ants under a log near Santa Anna in Satipo Province in the Peruvian Amazon. It is a 5.1 mm golden-brown ant covered in fine setae (hairs). Exactly what is does in the Ant colony is unclear, but it is clearly tolerated by the Ants.

The approximate location of the site where Jubogaster towai was discovered. Google Maps.

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Saturday, 27 October 2012

Four new species of Leafhopper from Southern Africa.

Leafhoppers are small Insects belonging to the True Bug order, Hemiptera. They are mostly herbivorous, using needle-like mouthparts to drill into plants and drain their sap. Leafhoppers form large colonies on plants, containing adults of both sexes as well as nymphs, larvae that resemble small adults and which only undergo partial metamorphosis during growth. Some species of Leafhopper form symbiotic relationships with Ants, producing secretions consumed by the Ants in return for protection from predators.

In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 8 October 2012, Michael Stiller of the Biosystematics Division at the ARC-Plant Protection Research Institute in South Africa describes four new species of Leafhopper found growing on plants of the genus Xerophyta (drought tolerant Monocotyledonous shrubs) in southern Africa.

The first new species described is placed in the new genus Xerophytavorus (eater of Xerophyta) and given the specific name furcillatus (little fork, referring to the shape of the tip of the abdomen). These are small (adults slightly over 2 mm), dark coloured Insects with white markings, found living on the plant Xerophyta splendens on Mulanje Mountain in Malawi, where they were attended by Ants of the genus Crematogaster. Such Leafhopper-Ant associations are common on Dicotyledonous (broad leafed) plants, but rare on Monocotyledons. Ants of the genus Crematogaster have previously been found tending a variety of Hemipterans (True Bugs) on a variety of plants, and are known to offer good protection against parasitoid Wasps (Wasps that lay their eggs on the Bugs, and whose larvae will the proceed to consume the Bud from the inside). On this occasion the Ants were found to build encasements of chewed plant material around the Leafhoppers. The grasslands where Xerophyta splendens grows are noted for regular scrub-fires, which the plant is able to tolerate. Xerophytavorus furcillatus was only found living on taller plants, suggesting it survives such events by remaining out of reach of the flames.

Xerophytavorus furcillatus. (Top) Male. (Bottom) Female. Stiller (2012).

Map showing the location of the site where Xerophytavorus furcillatus was discovered. Google Maps.

Xerophyta splendens. Senckenberg Institute.

The second new species described is also placed in the genus Xerophytavorus and is given the specific name rastrullus (small rake or comb, in reference to to the shape of the tip of the abdomen). It was found living on Xerophyta retinervis, the Black Stick Lilly, a widespread but never abundant, hardy shrub in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North-West Provinces. Xerophytavorus rastrullus was attended by the small Ant Lepisiota incisa at Faerie Glen in Pretoria. This Ant has become widespread in many South African cities in recent years, and is known to have invaded the Kruger National Park, but is not believed to be native to South Africa. Other species of Ant were found tending Xerophytavorus rastrullus at other locations.

Xerophytavorus rastrullus. (Top) Female from Faerie Glen, Pretoria. (Upper Middle) Female from Dome Kloof, Magaliesberg, North-West Province. (Lower Middle) Nymph from Koppie Alleen, North-West Province. (Bottom) Female Swawelpoort, Pretoria. Stiller (2012).

Myrmecological associations. (Top and Upper Middle) Lepisiota incisa tending leafhoppers, Faerie Glen. (Lower Middle) Myrmicaria natalensis tending Xerophytavorus rastrullus, Irene, Pretoria. (Bottom) Camponotus eugeniae tending Xerophytavorus rastrullus, Magaliesberg, North-West Province. Stiller (2012).

(Left) Xerophyta retinervis, the Black Stick Lilly. Food and Agriculture Organization. (Right) The environment at Faerie Glen. Stiller (2012).

The third new species of Leafhopper described is placed in the new genus Xerophytacolus, meaning dweller on Xerophyta, and given the specific name claviverpus, meaning spiny penis, due to a feature of the male anatomy. The species was found living on Xerophyta retinervis in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa.

Xerophytacolus claviverpus. (Top) Nymph. (Bottom). Male. Both from Orrie Baragwanath Pass in Limpopo Province. Stiller (2012).

The final new species described is also placed in the genus Xerophytacolus, and given the specific name tubuverpus, meaning 'tubular penis', again due to the male anatomy. The two species in this genera are very similar, but have distinctive genitalia, suggesting reproductive isolation. This species was also found living on Xerophyta retinervis in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa.

Xerophytacolus tubuverpus. (Top) Male. (Middle) Female. (Bottom) Nymph. All from Faerie Glen, Pretoria. (Stiller 2012).