Temnothorax unifasciatus (Latreille, 1798)

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Taxonomic History:

4 subspecies

Formica unifasciata Latreille, 1798 PDF: 47 (w.q.m.) FRANCE. AntCat AntWiki

Taxonomic history

Wheeler & Wheeler, 1955b PDF: 25 (l.).
Combination in Manica: Jurine, 1807 PDF: 279; in Leptothorax: Mayr, 1855 PDF: 444; in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003 PDF: 272.
Subspecies of Temnothorax tuberum: Forel, 1874 PDF: 85; Emery & Forel, 1879: 459; André, 1883a: 299; Forel, 1890b PDF: lxxv; Emery, 1891c: 5; Bondroit, 1910 PDF: 497; Emery, 1916a PDF: 175; Finzi, 1924a PDF: 13; Menozzi, 1925d PDF: 28; Karavaiev, 1926c PDF: 163.
Status as species: Saunders, 1880 PDF: 220; Nasonov, 1889: 32; Dalla Torre, 1893: 129; Ruzsky, 1902d: 21; Bondroit, 1912 PDF: 351; Bondroit, 1918 PDF: 131; Müller, 1923b PDF: 91; Finzi, 1928b PDF: 130; Finzi, 1930d PDF: 314; Finzi, 1933 PDF: 164; Boven, 1947: 179; Bernard, 1967a PDF: 211; Kutter, 1977c: 134; Collingwood, 1979 PDF: 76; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 144.
Senior synonym of Temnothorax anoplogynus: Emery, 1916a PDF: 175.
of Temnothorax unifasciatointerruptus Kutter, 1977c: 14; of Temnothorax cordieri and material of the unavailable name Temnothorax paolii referred here: Casevitz-Weulersse, 1990b: 417; of Temnothorax brauneri Karavaiev, Temnothorax kirillovi, Temnothorax salina, Temnothorax ucrainicus: (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the central and eastern Palearctic. Communication 2. Groups tuberum, corticalis, affinis, clypeatus, alinae and singularis. [In Russian.]. Vestnik Zoologii 1995(2-3):14-21. [1995-06-15>]">Radchenko, 1995c: 15; of Temnothorax volubilis: , Epimyrma et Chalepoxenus du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Clé et catalogue des espèces. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (n.s.)33:259-284. [1997-09-30]">Cagniant & Espadaler, 1997: 274.
Current subspecies: nominal plus Temnothorax unifasciatus obenbergeri, Temnothorax unifasciatus rougeti, Temnothorax unifasciatus staegeri, Temnothorax unifasciatus unifasciatonigriceps.
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23. Leptothorax unifasciatus HNS (Latreille, 1798) Fig. 100.

Formica unifasciatus Latreille HNS , 1798:47.

Worker. Yellowish with the head often brown and the gaster characteristically having a dark band across the first gaster segment. The propodeal spines are short but strong and distinct. The outline of the alitrunk is more flattened than in L. interruptus HNS and the petiole node in the worker has a distinct dorsal truncate area which meets the anterior face at a clearly defined angle. Length: 2.8-3.5 mm.

Queen. Pale brown to brownish black with distinct dark band across first gaster tergite; mesoscutellum diffusely sculptured; antennal clubs brownish, darker than rest of funiculus. Propodeal spines reduced to very short denticles; petiole more peaked than in worker. Length: 4.0-4.5 mm.

Male. Brownish black, appendages very pale; antennal scape as long as following 3 segments; space between notauli with dilute sculpture. Length: 2.8-3.5 mm.

Distribution. Very local, recorded from Sweden: Öl . only, first taken in 1968 by H. Andersson and later rediscovered among limestone ruins by P. Douwes (1976a). - The species does not occur in England but is common on the Channel Islands. - Range: an abundant species throughout Central and South Europe from Spain to the Caucasus and from South Italy to North Germany and the Netherlands.

Biology. This widely distributed and common species is rather similar to L. tuberum HNS but is slightly larger and in the female castes easily distinguished by the banded gaster. It nests among rocks and under stones but also frequently occurs under bark. Individual colonies are usually more populous than the other North European Leptothorax HNS species with workers numbering 200 or more. Alatae are found in July and August.

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Distribution:

Throughout SLO

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Leptothorax tuberum r. unifasciatus var. unifasciatotuberum Forel, 1892 (nomen nudum and unavailable name)

 

Leptothorax tuberum r. unifasciatus var. interruptotuberum Forel, 1892 (nomen nudum and unavailable name)

 

Records

 

(Map 35): Bulgaria ( Emery 1914 , Agosti and Collingwood 1987a ); Central Predbalkan: Dermantsi vill. (Lukovit) ( Atanassov 1936 ); Stara Planina Mts ( Atanassov and Dlusskij 1992 ); Eastern Stara Planina Mts: Sliven ( Forel 1892 ); Sofia Basin: Sofia ( Forel 1892 , Antonova 2004 , 2005 , Lapeva-Gjonova and Atanasova 2004 , Antonova and Penev 2006 , 2008 ), surroundings of Sofia ( Antonova and Penev 2006 ); Vitosha Mt. ( Atanassov 1952 , Atanassov and Dlusskij 1992 ); Plana Mt.: Alino vill. ( Vagalinski and Lapeva-Gjonova in press ); Lozenska Planina Mt.: near German monastery and north of Pasarel vill. ( Antonova and Penev 2008 ); Strandzha Mt. ( Antonova et al. in press ); Belasitsa Mt. ( Atanassov 1964 , Atanassov and Dlusskij 1992 , Hubenov et al. 1998 ); Rila Mt. ( Forel 1892 , Atanassov and Dlusskij 1992 ); Rhodopi Mts ( Atanassov and Dlusskij 1992 ); Western Rhodopi Mts: Peshtera ( Lapeva-Gjonova in press (a) ); Southern Black Sea coast: Burgas ( Forel 1892 ).

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Sourcehttp://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.62.430

Temnothorax unifasciatus:

Temnothorax albipennis is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.

Behavior[edit]

Temnothorax unifasciatus exhibit the altruistic behavior of social withdrawal, or “altruistic self-removal” whilst on the brink of death. Dying ants will leave their nest hours or in some cases days before their death. The behavior is exhibited both in the presence of fungal infection as well as when experimentally exposed to 95% CO2, causing the ants to die in the absence of an acting pathogen.[1] This indicates that the ants are in fact behaving in an altruistic manner, rather than experiencing behavioral manipulation as a result of pathogen influence. The action is altruistic because it reduces the risk of infecting other ants in the colony. This in turn minimizes the risk of transferring the infection to kin and thus likely results in a higher inclusive fitness for the socially withdrawing individuals.[2]

Ant colonies exhibit altruistic behavior through the suppression of selfish egg-laying behavior on behalf of worker ants by means of “policing;” this is accomplished either through aggression or through direct disposal of the eggs. In a study entitled Policing Effectiveness Depends on Relatedness and Group Size, researchers found the efficacy of colony policing to improve under conditions of decreased relatedness and decreased group size.[3] The effectiveness of policing was shown to decrease in the presence of increase relatedness, because selfish behavior on behalf of kin increases the inclusive fitness of the policers, which presents a disincentive to intervene. The efficacy of policing is also influenced by the relative costs and benefits to the inclusive fitness of the actor engaging in policing behavior. In large colonies, there is less of an incentive to police selfish behavior because the costs associated with intervention outweigh the benefits to the inclusive fitness of the policer. Policing is therefore most likely to be effective in small colonies where there is low relatedness.[4]

T. unifasciatus are susceptible to being taken on as a host-species by parasitic slave-making ants which commandeer brood of other ant species to expand their colony’s own work force. Research indicates that the parasitic slave-making ants accomplish the enslavement of the ants through interference during the very early experiences of the potential host ants. T. unifasciatus are thought to use odor to identify fellow nestmates early on in development. By intervening during this stage of development, slave-making ants deceive T. uniasciatus ants into believing they are kin and thereafter do not question their presence. This is supported by a French experiment which presented a comparative analysis of parasitic slave-making species of ants and the species which are vulnerable to becoming hosts; the study found that species susceptible to become hosts were more influenced by interactions early in development than species which were not susceptible to becoming enslaved. Another difference between the species of ants that are susceptible to being enslaved as compared to non-susceptible species was that the species which were not enslaved participated in more social grooming, or allogrooming. Scientists theorize that allogrooming behavior is more common in the slave-making species because they are groomed by the ants they enslave.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Heinze, Jurgen. "Moribund Ants Leave Their Nests to Die in Social Isolation." Current Biology 20.3 (2010): 249-52. Google Scholar. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982209021551>.
  2. ^ Shorter, J. R., and Olav Rueppell. "A review on self-destructive defense behaviors in social insects." Insectes Sociaux 59.1 (2012): 1-10. Google Scholar. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. <http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/O_Rueppell_Review_2012.pdf>.
  3. ^ Bartosz, Walter, Elisabeth Brunner, and Jurgen Heinze. "Policing Effectiveness Depends on Relatedness and Group Size." The American Naturalist 177.3 (2011): 368-76. JSTOR. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/658396>.
  4. ^ Stroeymeyt, Nathalie, Elisabeth Brunner, and Jurgen Heinze. "“Selfish worker policing” controls reproduction in a Temnothorax ant." Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 61.9 (2007): 1449-57. Google Scholar. Web. 15 Sept. 2013. <http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-007-0377-3>.
  5. ^ Blatrix, Rumsais, and Claire Sermage. "Role of early experience in ant enslavement: a comparative analysis of a host and a non-host species." Frontiers in Zoology 2.13 (2005): 1-7. Google Scholar. Web. 16 Sept. 2013. <http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1742-9994-2-13.pdf>.
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