Alate gyne of the ant Dolichoderus quadripunctatus (L.) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) follows foraging trail to aphids

The first observation of alate gyne of Dolichoderus quadripunctatus (L.) visiting aphids is described. A gyne walked along a foraging trail to the aphid Panaphis juglandis Goeze colony where it imbibed honeydew excreted on the leaf by the aphids, after which it returned to the trail. This recurred during two more days, always a single alate gyne at a time; hence the total number of gynes, one or more, remained open. The phenomenon, hitherto practically unknown in ants, is presented against the background of the biology of the species and discussed in the context of specific environmental circumstances and the colony dynamics.Peer reviewe

Ants trapped for years in an old bunker; survival by cannibalism and eventual escape

Successful evacuation of a peculiar 'colony' of the wood ant Formica polyctena Forst., for years trapped within an old bunker previously used for storing nuclear weapons (see Czechowski et al. 2016), is reported. Using an experimentally installed boardwalk, the imprisoned ants managed to get through the ventilation pipe to their maternal nest on the top of the bunker. In our previous report, we left open the question of how the 'colony' could survive seemingly without food. Here we show that the 'colony' in the bunker survived and grew thanks to an influx of workers from the source nest above the bunker and mass consumption of corpses of the imprisoned nestmates.Peer reviewe

Interspecific attraction between ground-nesting songbirds and ants: the role of nest-site selection

Background: Interspecific interactions within ecological networks can influence animal fitness and behaviour, including nest-site selection of birds and ants. Previous studies revealed that nesting birds and ants may benefit from cohabitation, with interspecific attraction through their nest-site choice, but mutual interactions have not yet been tested. We explored a previously undescribed ecological link between ground-nesting birds and ants raising their own broods (larvae and pupae) within the birds’ nests in a temperate primeval forest of lowland Europe. We tested whether the occurrence of ant broods within bird nests resulted from a mutual or one-sided interspecific attraction that operated through nest-site choice and was modified by weather conditions. Results: We found a non-random occupation of bird nests by ants raising their own broods within them, which indicated interspecific attraction driven solely by the ants. The birds’ preference to nest near tussocks of vegetation showed little overlap with the most frequent placement of ant colonies among fallen deciduous tree-leaves, dead wood and moss. Additionally, birds did not appear to select forest localities with high densities of ant colonies. The occurrence of ant broods within bird nests was also unrelated to bird nest placement near to specific habitat features. The attractiveness of bird nests to ants appeared to increase with the thermal activity of the birds warming their nests, and also during cool and wet weather when the occurrence of ant broods within bird nests was most frequent. Ants often remained in the nests after the birds had vacated them, with only a slight reduction in the probability of ant brood occurrence over time. Conclusions: The natural patterns of bird nest colonisation by ants support the hypothesis of ants’ attraction to warm nests of birds to raise their broods under advantageous thermal conditions. Similar relationships may occur between other warm-blooded, nest-building vertebrates and nest-dwelling invertebrates, which depend on ambient temperatures. The findings advance our understanding of these poorly recognised interspecific interactions, and can inform future studies of ecological networks

Role of Urban Green Spaces in Global Strategies of Conservation Using Ants As Bioindicators

Taken into account the role ants can play as bioindicators, we carried out a 10-year study in 9 different urban parks in Córdoba (Andalusia, Spain), in order to find out how habitat features affect the abundance and species richness of ants on small and large scales. Starting with a faunal study of the myrmecofauna present in each of the parks used in the study (using pitfall traps, as main method, as well as Berlese and direct search), an analysis was carried out to know the influence of the age and the distance from natural and seminatural areas on the biodiversity in urban gardens. Also, 16 different features present in the surrounding microhabitat of the pitfall traps (such as presence of tree or shrubs, stones and leaf litter…) were analysed in order to establish a relationship between these variables and the species of ants found in each pitfall trap taking into account the effect of the invasive ant Linepithema humile on the other species. Once the relationship with the microhabitat was known, the effect of the climate features as determining factors of the myrmecofauna occurring in urban parks was also studied, taking chance to use the weather station installed on the Campus of Rabanales. Finally, the effect of the features of macrohabitat, such as canopy cover and humidity, on the ant community were assessed. As expected, due to the specificity of this bioindicator group, the biodiversity of ants present in urban gardens is totally dependent on microhabitat and climate features, as well as is dependent on the age an location of the park, even in damped ecosystems such as urban parks, whereas the effect of the macrohabitat is almost imperceptible