Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp
Many animals avoid attack from predators through toxicity or the emission of repellent chemicals. Defensive mimicry has evolved in many species to deceive shared predators, for instance through colouration and other morphological adaptations, but mimicry hardly ever seems to involve multi-trait simi...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Publishing Group
2015
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41521/ |
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| author | Malcicka, Miriama Bezemer, T. Martijn Visser, Bertanne Bloemberg, Mark Snart, Charles J.P. Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. |
| author_facet | Malcicka, Miriama Bezemer, T. Martijn Visser, Bertanne Bloemberg, Mark Snart, Charles J.P. Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. |
| author_sort | Malcicka, Miriama |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Many animals avoid attack from predators through toxicity or the emission of repellent chemicals. Defensive mimicry has evolved in many species to deceive shared predators, for instance through colouration and other morphological adaptations, but mimicry hardly ever seems to involve multi-trait similarities. Here we report on a wingless parasitoid wasp that exhibits a full spectrum of traits mimicing ants and affording protection against ground-dwelling predators (wolf spiders). In body size, morphology and movement Gelis agilis (Ichneumonidae) is highly similar to the black garden ant (Lasius niger) that shares the same habitat. When threatened, G. agilis also emits a volatile chemical that is similar to an ant-produced chemical that repels spiders. In bioassays with L. niger, G. agilis, G. areator, Cotesia glomerata and Drosophila melanogaster, ants and G. agilis were virtually immune to spider attack, in contrast the other species were not. Volatile characterisation with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified G. agilis emissions as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, a known insect defence semiochemical that acts as an alarm pheromone in ants. We argue that multi-trait mimicry, as observed in G. agilis, might be much more common among animals than currently realized. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-41521 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:45:41Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | Nature Publishing Group |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-415212020-05-04T17:00:11Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41521/ Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp Malcicka, Miriama Bezemer, T. Martijn Visser, Bertanne Bloemberg, Mark Snart, Charles J.P. Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. Many animals avoid attack from predators through toxicity or the emission of repellent chemicals. Defensive mimicry has evolved in many species to deceive shared predators, for instance through colouration and other morphological adaptations, but mimicry hardly ever seems to involve multi-trait similarities. Here we report on a wingless parasitoid wasp that exhibits a full spectrum of traits mimicing ants and affording protection against ground-dwelling predators (wolf spiders). In body size, morphology and movement Gelis agilis (Ichneumonidae) is highly similar to the black garden ant (Lasius niger) that shares the same habitat. When threatened, G. agilis also emits a volatile chemical that is similar to an ant-produced chemical that repels spiders. In bioassays with L. niger, G. agilis, G. areator, Cotesia glomerata and Drosophila melanogaster, ants and G. agilis were virtually immune to spider attack, in contrast the other species were not. Volatile characterisation with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified G. agilis emissions as 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, a known insect defence semiochemical that acts as an alarm pheromone in ants. We argue that multi-trait mimicry, as observed in G. agilis, might be much more common among animals than currently realized. Nature Publishing Group 2015-01-27 Article PeerReviewed Malcicka, Miriama, Bezemer, T. Martijn, Visser, Bertanne, Bloemberg, Mark, Snart, Charles J.P., Hardy, Ian C.W. and Harvey, Jeffrey A. (2015) Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp. Scientific Reports, 5 . 8043/1-8043/6. ISSN 2045-2322 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep08043 doi:10.1038/srep08043 doi:10.1038/srep08043 |
| spellingShingle | Malcicka, Miriama Bezemer, T. Martijn Visser, Bertanne Bloemberg, Mark Snart, Charles J.P. Hardy, Ian C.W. Harvey, Jeffrey A. Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| title | Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| title_full | Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| title_fullStr | Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| title_short | Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| title_sort | multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41521/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41521/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/41521/ |