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Parasite-induced fruit mimicry in a tropical canopy ant
- Source :
- The American naturalist. 171(4)
- Publication Year :
- 2008
-
Abstract
- Some parasites modify characteristics of intermediate hosts to facilitate their consumption by subsequent hosts, but examples of parasite‐mediated mimicry are rare. Here we report dramatic changes in the appearance and behavior of nematode‐parasitized ants such that they resemble ripe fruits in the tropical rain forest canopy. Unlike healthy ants, which are completely black, infected ants have bright red, berry‐like gasters full of parasite eggs. The infected gasters are held in a conspicuous elevated position as the ants are walking, and they are easily detached from living ants, which also exhibit reduced defensive responses. This combination of changes presumably makes the infected ants attractive to frugivorous birds, which ingest the red gasters and pass the parasite eggs in their feces. The feces are collected by ants and fed to the developing brood, thus completing the cycle. This is the first documentation of parasites causing apparent fruit mimicry in an animal host to complete their li...
- Subjects :
- Panama
Adaptation, Biological
Parasitism
Hymenoptera
Cephalotes
Host-Parasite Interactions
Birds
Frugivore
Peru
Animals
reproductive and urinary physiology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Ecosystem
Tropical Climate
biology
Ecology
Ants
fungi
food and beverages
Ant mimicry
biochemical phenomena, metabolism, and nutrition
biology.organism_classification
Brood
Aculeata
Fruit
Predatory Behavior
behavior and behavior mechanisms
Mimicry
Enoplida
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15375323
- Volume :
- 171
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The American naturalist
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....4c2b1e3e0fb7a98f549203b7e0076cae