PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Minimalistic raiding parties of a slave-hunting ant crack castles

2014-01-09
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Bernhard Seifert
bernhard.seifert@senckenberg.de
Pensoft Publishers
Minimalistic raiding parties of a slave-hunting ant crack castles

A group of scientists from the University of Mainz and the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Goerlitz, headed by Susanne Foitzik and Bernhard Seifert, recently described a new slave-making ant species from the eastern USA. They baptized the new ant Temnothorax pilagens – from pilere (Latin): to pluck, plunder or pillage. The paper was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

In contrast to the famous slave-hunting Amazon Ants whose campaigns may include up to 3000 warriors, the new slave-maker is minimalistic in expense, but most effective in result. The length of a "Pillage Ant" is only two and a half millimeters and the range of action of these slave-hunters restricts to a few square meters of forest floor. Targets of their raiding parties are societies of two related ant species living within hollow nuts or acorns. These homes are castles in the true sense of the word – characterized by thick walls and a single entrance hole of only 1 millimeter in diameter, they cannot be entered by any larger enemy ant.

An average raiding party of the Pillage Ant contains four slave-hunters only, including the scout who had discovered the target. Due to their small size the raiders easily penetrate the slave species home. A complete success of raiding is achieved by a combination of two methods: chemical camouflage and artistic rapier fencing.

The observed behavior is surprising as invasion of alien ants in an ant nest often results in fierce, usually mortal, fighting. Here, however, in several observed raids of the Pillage Ant, the attacked ants did not defend and allowed the robbers to freely carry away broods and even adult ants to integrate them into the slave workforce. The attacked ants did not show aggression and defence because the recognition of the enemy was prevented by specific neutralizing chemical components on the cuticle of the slave-hunters.

The survival of slave ant nests is an ideal solution from the perspective of slave hunters as it provides the chance for further raids during the next years. In other observed raids chemical camouflage was less effective – perhaps because the attacked ant population was strongly imprinted to a more specific blend of surface chemicals. In fact, a defence reaction was more probable if the attacked colony contained a queen that causes a strong imprinting of chemical recognition cues.

If defending, the chance of a slave ant to win a fight with a Pillage Ant is nearly zero. The attackers use their stinger in a sophisticated way, targeting it is precisely in the tiny spot where the slave ant's neck is soft-skinned. This stinging causes immediate paralysis and quick death and may result in high rates of casualties ranging from 5% to 100% of the attacked nests' population, whereas there are no victims among the attackers. If the Pillage Ants can conduct such successful raids with no or minimum own losses, there remains the question which factors regulate their population at a rather low level.



INFORMATION:

Original Source:

Seifert B, Kleeberg I, Feldmeyer B, Pamminger T, Jongepier E, Foitzik S (2014) Temnothorax pilagens sp. n. – a new slave-making species of the tribe Formicoxenini from North America (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 368: 65. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.368.6423



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Researchers find comparable long-term outcomes between diastolic and systolic heart failure patients

2014-01-09
Researchers find comparable long-term outcomes between diastolic and systolic heart failure patients (Boston) – A new study by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) found comparable long-term outcomes ...

Genetic testing to produce more offspring

2014-01-09
Genetic testing to produce more offspring Scientists discover cause of infertility in cattle The Fleckvieh is a breed of cattle that originated in the Alpine region. A robust animal, it is now found on every continent, with an estimated worldwide ...

Minorities and poor have more advanced thyroid cancers when diagnosed, UCLA study shows

2014-01-09
Minorities and poor have more advanced thyroid cancers when diagnosed, UCLA study shows Black patients fare worst; Asians, Hispanics survive longest with disease UCLA researchers have found that minority patients and those ...

Novel potential approach to prevent infection in patients with liver failure

2014-01-09
Novel potential approach to prevent infection in patients with liver failure Findings published in the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases journal, Hepatology, indicate that infection, the commonest cause of mortality in patients with acute liver failure (ALF), ...

Fusion instabilities lessened by unexpected effect

2014-01-09
Fusion instabilities lessened by unexpected effect Control of widely recognized distortion may allow greater output at Sandia's Z machine ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A surprising effect created by a 19th century device called a Helmholz coil offers clues about how ...

Big data: A method for obtaining large, phylogenomic data sets

2014-01-09
Big data: A method for obtaining large, phylogenomic data sets New approach combines long-range PCR and next-generation sequencing, allowing systematists to sequence large portions of the genome Traditional molecular systematic studies have progressed by sequencing genes one by ...

SHY hypothesis explains that sleep is the price we pay for learning

2014-01-09
SHY hypothesis explains that sleep is the price we pay for learning MADISON — Why do animals ranging from fruit flies to humans all need to sleep? After all, sleep disconnects them from their environment, puts them at risk and keeps them from seeking ...

Red blood cells take on many-sided shape during clotting

2014-01-09
Red blood cells take on many-sided shape during clotting Penn Medicine researchers find new role in stemming bleeding and preventing obstruction of blood flow, explaining need for speed in busting harmful clots PHILADELPHIA - Red blood ...

National Academy of Inventors 2013 Conference showcased global innovation

2014-01-09
National Academy of Inventors 2013 Conference showcased global innovation Innovators gathered from around the world to honor academic invention TAMPA, Fla. (Jan. 9, 2014) – The current special issue of Technology and Innovation- Proceedings of the National ...

T2 and collaborators announce discovery of novel clot structure biology enabled by T2HemoStat

2014-01-09
T2 and collaborators announce discovery of novel clot structure biology enabled by T2HemoStat T2HemoStat detection of novel clot behavior could direct therapeutic choices for stroke and heart attack victims Lexington, MA, January 9, 2014 – T2 ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

A 'Rosetta Stone' for molecular systems

What goes up must come down – scientists unearth “universal thermal performance curve” that shackles evolution

Physical activity increases total daily energy use, study shows

National study finds public Montessori programs strengthens early learning outcomes -- at sharply lower costs compared to traditional preschool

National poll: 1 in 10 young children play outdoors as little as once a week

How do people learn new facts?

Exploring how storytelling strategies shape memories

How people process mental images versus real-life visuals 

Blood test could help predict blood pressure after weight loss surgery in teens

Ultra-endurance athletes test the metabolic limits of the human body

Revealing the 'carbon hoofprint' of meat consumption for American cities

Like radar, a brain wave sweeps a cortical region to read out information held in working memory

Resistance to epilepsy treatments may wane over time

Precision reprogramming: How AI tricks cancer’s toughest cells

US physician Medicare program participation and exit, 2013-2023

A direct-to-patient digital health program for lung cancer screening

Belgian scientists discover how cells protect our skin from inflammatory disease – paving the way for new treatments

Effectiveness of colchicine for the treatment of long COVID

Distance to care and telehealth abortion demand after Dobbs

Epidural electrical stimulation for functional recovery in incomplete spinal cord injury

Transformative eye research expands donor pool for corneal transplant patients

Retinal implant restores central vision in patients with advanced AMD, study co-led by Pitt investigator shows

Eye prosthesis is the first to restore sight lost to macular degeneration

Pioneering eye device restores reading vision to blind eyes

Subretinal implant partially restores vision in AMD patients

3D printed antenna arrays developed for flexible wireless systems

When is the brain like a subway station? When it’s processing many words at once

Important phenomenon discovered in the Arctic – could boost marine life

New white paper urges policymakers to modernize practice laws to unlock AI’s full potential in healthcare

Unmasking the culprits of battery failure with a graphene mesosponge

[Press-News.org] Minimalistic raiding parties of a slave-hunting ant crack castles