BIOLOGICAL AND ETHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE PARASITE ANT FORMICOXENUS-PROVANCHERI AND ITS HOST MYRMICA-INCOMPLETA (HYM-FORMICIDAE)
A. Lenoir et al., BIOLOGICAL AND ETHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE PARASITE ANT FORMICOXENUS-PROVANCHERI AND ITS HOST MYRMICA-INCOMPLETA (HYM-FORMICIDAE), Insectes sociaux, 39(1), 1992, pp. 81-97
Information on the biology and the behaviour of Formicoxenus provanche
ri, a parasite of Myrmica incompleta, is presented. F. provancheri for
ms large polycalic societies with each unit maintaining some independe
nce: movements from one unit to another are not frequent and there is
brood discrimination between different units. Adoption of Formicoxenus
ergates by Myrmica societies is easy, the mortality is very low among
the parasites, even if the adoptive Myrmica were previously completel
y parasite free. The larvae of Formicoxenus can be eaten by the host M
yrmica; this explains the necessity for the Formicoxenus to keep their
brood apart from the host. Grooming of the host is very frequent. Thi
s might enable the parasite to acquire the species-specific odour of t
he host colony. Grooming might also be a way of obtaining some nutriti
ous substances from the host body. Appeasement behaviour presented by
the Formicoxenus is described. New small units of colonies, at the per
iphery of the host society, are probably founded by budding of any fec
undated female leaving the nest with some ergates. This leads to the f
ormation of super-societies by the parasite. The problem of how the pa
rasite spreads is not answered by this study because it was shown that
newly fecundated genes suffer strong aggression when they enter an al
ien host society.