Ant mimicry

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Ants are abundant all over the world, and insect predators that rely on vision to identify their prey such as birds and wasps normally avoid them, either because they are unpalatable, or aggressive. Thus some other arthropods mimic ants to escape predation (Batesian mimicry).

Some species (e.g. Zodariidae spiders) use their anatomical and behavioral ant mimicry to hunt ants.

Contents 1 Spiders 2 Diptera 3 Hemiptera 4 Beetles 5 Mites 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Spiders

80% of spiders with Batesian mimicry mimic ants, comprising more than 100 species. Ant-mimicking spiders can be found in the following spider families:

• Araneidae (e.g. Micrathena)
• Corinnidae (e.g. Apochinoma, Castianeira, Myrmecium, Corinna vertebrata, Mazax pax, M. spinosa, Myrmecotypus, Sphecotypus, Otacilia, Phrurolithus)
• Dysderidae (Harpactea hombergi preys on ants, behavioral mimic, not morphological)
• Eresidae (Seothyra schreineri males mimic small Camponotus castes)
• Gnaphosidae (e.g. Micaria, Callilepis nocturna)
• Linyphiidae (Linyphia furtiva, Meioneta beata)
• Oonopidae (Diblemma donisthorpei mimics Wasmannia auropunctata)
• Salticidae (e.g. Belippo, Bocus, Consingis, Corcovetella, Enoplomischus, Leptorchestes, Martella, Myrmarachne, Paradamoetas cara, Peckhamia picata, Sarinda, Synageles, Synemosyna, Tutelina, Uluella, Zuniga)
• Theridiidae (e.g. Anatea formicaria, Cerocida strigosa, Coleosoma floridanum (only males), Coleosoma acutiventer, Helvibis brasiliana, H. chilensis, Heleosoma floridanum, Melychiopharis cynips, Cerocida strigosa)
• Thomisidae (e.g. Amyciaea, Aphantochilus, Bucranium, Strophius nigricans)
• Zodariidae (e.g. Storena, Zodarion)

Some spiders (e.g. Zodariidae) also use their ant disguise to hunt ants. The overall body of spider myrmecomorphs is much narrower than non-mimics, which reduces the number of eggs per eggsac, compared to non-mimetic spiders of similar size. They seem to compensate by laying more eggsacs in their lifetime. Ant-mimics usually use their first or second pair of legs to fake ant antennae, such reducing the number of functional legs to six.

Several spiders (eg., most Myrmarachne) undergo transformational mimicry: because the spiderlings are too small to mimic the ant species the adult copies, they use other ant species as a model.

Sometimes, the sexes each mimic a different model. There are also spiders where several morphs occur, each mimicking a different morph of the model ant species, or different ant species. For example, light yellow to brown morphs of Synemosyna aurantiaca mimic Pseudomyrmex flavidulus and P. oculatus, while black morphs mimic P. gracilis and P. sericeus.

In Micrathena, only males and juveniles resemble ants. This may be mimosis rather than mimicry.

[edit] Diptera

There are several fly species that look like an ant, at times stunningly so.

[edit] Hemiptera

Among the bugs, the wingless Myrmecoris gracilis looks like an ant and feeds on ant larvae.

Pithanus maerkeli roughly resembles an ant.

[edit] Beetles

Many parasitic Staphilinidae that march with army ants strikingly resemble their hosts. An outstanding example is Ecitomorpha nevermanni, whose color varies to match the color variation of its host Eciton burchelli. Since Eciton army ants have poor vision, this is probably an example of Batesian mimicry to escape predation by vertebrates.

The Anthicidae are also ant-like in appearance.

[edit] Mites

The phoretic mite Planodiscus attaches itself to the tibia of its host Eciton hamatum. The cuticula sculpturing of the mite's body is nearly identical to that of the ant's leg.

[edit] References

• Komárek S. 1998. Mimicry, aposematism and related phenomena in animals and plants - a bibliography 1800-1990. Prague: Vesmír.
• Cushing P.E. (1997). Myrmecomorphy and myrmecophily in spiders: a review. Fla. Entomol. 80:165–193. PDF

[edit] External links

• Very nice pictures of Coleosoma acutiventer