Opportunist slave-making ants Myrmoxenus ravouxi discriminate different host species from a non-host species

• Published in: Insectes sociaux Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 7 - 13
• Main Authors: Delattre, O, Châline, N, Chameron, S, Lecoutey, E, Jaisson, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel Springer-Verlag 2013; SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel; Birkhäuser
• Subjects: aggression; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Entomology; Formicidae; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; insect behavior; Life Sciences; Myrmoxenus ravouxi; parasites; Protozoa. Invertebrata; Research Article; worker insects; Slave-making ants; Social recognition; Coevolution; Social parasitism; Formicidae; Insecta; Host; Opportunist; Social insect; Formicoidea; Slave making; Social interaction; Arthropoda; Temnothorax; Hymenoptera; Invertebrata; Recognition; Aculeata
• ISSN: 0020-1812; 1420-9098
• DOI: 10.1007/s00040-012-0257-3

Slave-making ants exploit the worker force of host colonies permanently and have to make recurrent raids in order to replenish the slave’s stock. Some of these parasite species exploit different host species and few studies so far have been devoted to host species recognition mechanisms. Here, we tried to determine if opportunist slave-making ants using different host species rely on innate or experience-induced preferences to discriminate host from non-host species. We show that Myrmoxenus ravouxi slave-making workers are not only more aggressive toward heterocolonial host and potential host species workers when compared with non-host species workers, but also toward heterocolonial host workers than toward heterocolonial conspecifics. Moreover, M. ravouxi workers display more antennations and contacts toward the heterocolonial host species when compared with the non-host species. We also show that they do not discriminate between homocolonial and heterocolonial conspecifics. Together, our results suggest that this opportunistic slave-making ant species may have a complex social recognition template based on both innate and experience-based mechanisms.