Teleutomyrmex schneideri
| Teleutomyrmex schneideri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| T. schneideri alate queen from France | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Tetramoriini |
| Genus: | Teleutomyrmex |
| Species: | T. schneideri |
| Binomial name | |
| Teleutomyrmex schneideri Klutter, 1950 | |
Teleutomyrmex schneideri is an ectoparasitic ant found in the France and Switzerland. It was discovered by Swiss myrmecologist Heinrich Kutter.[1] The species is unique for lacking a worker caste, the queens and males living entirely off the care of the pavement ant.
Morphology
The body shape of Teleutomyrmex schneideri is specifically adapted. The queens average 2.5 mm in length, and have a concave form and large pads and claws. Teleutomyrmex schneideri is frail and unable to care for itself, with mandibles too small and weak to handle anything but liquid food, sting and poison glands small, and glands that produce food for larvae and protection against bacteria are completely absent. Its exoskeleton is thin and its brain and central nerve cord are small and simplified.
Behavior
Teleutomyrmex schneideri constantly sends chemical signals that trick host ants into accepting them as full members of the colony. Being ectoparasitic, Teleutomyrmex schneideri spends most of its adult life clinging to the backs of its hosts, especially queens. As many as eight have been observed piggy-backing onto a single host queen, leaving her immobile.[1]
Diet
Teleutomyrmex schneideri lives entirely on food regurgitated by its hosts, even the liquid meant for the host queen.[1]
Reproduction
Nourished and nurtured well by its hosts, Teleutomyrmex schneideri has high fecundity. Older individuals lay an average of two eggs every minute.[1]
References
Further reading
- Kutter, Heinrich (1969), Die Sozialparasitischen Ameisen der Schweiz
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Teleutomyrmex schneideri. |
- Social Insects Specialist Group 1996. Teleutomyrmex schneideri. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 August 2007.
- Buschinger, Alfred. Teleutomyrmex schneideri Kutter 1950 and other parasitic ants found in the Pyrenees (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). (1987). Internet Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2012.