Navigation Links
Predatory beetles eavesdrop on ants' chemical conversations to find best egg-laying sites
Date:8/3/2012

lationships involving ant pheromone-mediated interactions between multiple species of insects have not been previously reported, according to Perfecto.

The cast in this bug-world drama features four main players: the aforementioned Azteca instabilis ant, a tiny insect called the green coffee scale, the predatory lady beetle, and the parasitic phorid fly.

Tree-nesting Azteca ants enjoy a mutualistic relationship with the green coffee scale, which is a coffee pest. The ants protect the scale insects from predators and parasites and in return collect honeydew, a sweet, sticky liquid secreted by the green coffee scale.

The lady beetle eats the scale insects tended by the ants. However, patrolling ants attack and kill adult beetles and remove all beetle eggs laid bare on ant-tended coffee plants.

To get their offspring into food-rich patches among the scale insects, female lady beetles hide their eggs in out-of-the-way placesincluding the underside of the flat-bodied scale insects. That way, when the beetle eggs hatch they can start eating scale insects immediately, while still being protected from ant predation. A short time later, lady beetle larvae develop a waxy, filamentous coat that offers further protection from ants.

Phorids are a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. The parasitic phorid flies that attack Azteca ants lay their eggs on the ant's body. Fly larvae develop inside the ant's head, which falls off when the adult fly emerges. Phorids need to see movement to detect individual ants; therefore moving ants, rather than stationary ones, are their targets.

Needless to say, the ants do their best to avoid becoming phorid-fly victims. When the flies attack, the ants release a phorid-alert pheromone to warn other workers in the vicinity. In response, nearby ants enter a motionless, catatonic state and overall colony activity declines by at least 50 percent. This effect can last up to 2 ho
'/>"/>

Contact: Jim Erickson
ericksn@umich.edu
734-647-1842
University of Michigan
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3 4

Related biology news :

1. New report examines effects of trees killed by bark beetles on wildfire
2. First-ever release of endangered burying beetles in Missouri
3. Plants mimic scent of pollinating beetles
4. Study shows how elephants produce their deep voices
5. Infants exposed to specific molds have higher asthma risk
6. Key function of protein discovered for obtaining blood stem cells as source for transplants
7. American Health Assistance Foundation announces grants to advance promising vision research
8. Lace plants explain programmed cell death
9. Powerful class of antioxidants may be potent Parkinsons treatment
10. Green plants reduce city street pollution up to 8 times more than previously believed
11. New research association started: Magnesium implants shall facilitate bone fracture healing
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/17/2013)... will celebrate the science and technology of the ... during the inaugural Atlanta Science Festival, March 22-29, ... museums, corporations, K-12 schools and universities, the festival ... children and adults at venues across the city. ... The annual Atlanta Science Festival is a collaboration ...
(Date:5/17/2013)... study finds human-caused climate change may have little ... a host of recent studies that predict their ... The findings, which appear in the journal ... survival of a creature thought to be doomed: ... cold-blooded animals, especially forest lizards, will be hard ...
(Date:5/16/2013)... Bethesda, MD FASEB MARC (Maximizing Access to ... recipients for The Endocrine Society (ENDO) 95th Annual ... 2013. These awards are meant to promote the ... groups into the mainstream of the basic science ... scientists at the ENDO 2013 Annual Meeting. , ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):First Atlanta Science Festival set for 2014 2Climate change may have little impact on tropical lizards 2
... a strategy involving a genetically modified baculovirus and caterpillar ... to speed up a key step in the development ... findings today at the 2005 American Society for Microbiology ... the next flu pandemic strain. It could happen at ...
... finch knows only one scratchy tune learned in its ... are listening. But occasionally, the finch might improvise, experimenting ... notes. , Neurobiologists studying the finch now say the ... circuit in a section of the forebrain that seems ...
... of Illinois at Chicago have identified a method of ... sensitivity of cellular DNA to enzyme digestion. The article ... Alu I restriction enzyme decreases with malignancy and is ... the April 2005 issue of The American Journal of ...
Cached Biology News:Influenza vaccine uses insect cells to speed development 2Bird Brains Show How Trial and Error May Contribute to Learning 2Bird Brains Show How Trial and Error May Contribute to Learning 3Study of genomic DNA leads to new advances in cancer diagnostics 2
(Date:5/20/2013)... , May 20, 2013  Dr. Gerald ... nucleic acid research, recently launched a new blog in ... Zon ( zon.trilinkbiotech.com ), focuses on what,s trending in ... with industry thought leaders, discussions of research presented at ... Dr. Zon (PhD Princeton University 1971) ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... May 20, 2013 Pacific Biomarkers and Clinigene International ... developers of biosimilars at the 2013 AAPS/ National ... Diego Hotel and Marina , ... the opportunity to speak with company representatives at their ... Cross" on May 21 from 1-2 p.m. in the ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... May 20, 2013 With bed bugs' presence ... that although bed bugs need to be eliminated, one must ... compromise a person's health. And so to help bed bug ... get rid of bed bugs without using harmful ... bug spray it called Bed Bug Bully. , According to ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... BALTIMORE , May 20, 2013 ... regional private-public partnership focusing on commercializing market-relevant biohealth ... Central Maryland , today announced ... the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for BHI at the ... Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Dr. Aiyar ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Dr. Gerald 'Jerry' Zon Launches New Blog for TriLink BioTechnologies 2Pacific Biomarkers and Clinigene International To Announce Laboratory Solutions for Developers of Biosimilars at 2013 AAPS/ National Biotechnology Conference 2New Non Pesticide Discovery on How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs Tipped by My Cleaning Products 2BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 2BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 3BioHealth Innovation, Inc. Names Ram Aiyar as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 4
... PARIS and MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 24, 2011 Cellectis ... subsidiary of Cellectis (Alternext: ALCLS), and Recombinetics, a ... entered a development and license agreement on the ... creates, in accordance with biosafety and animal well-being ...
... 24, 2011 United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: ... its FREEDOM-C(2) Phase 3 trial of treprostinil diethanolamine ... of treprostinil, a stable synthetic form of prostacyclin, ... analysis demonstrates that the trial did not achieve ...
... France and Germany has developed a new material which ... at room temperature. Previously this was only at all ... are technically much easier and cheaper to produce than ... The researchers have now found a way to control ...
Cached Biology Technology:Cellectis bioresearch Grants Recombinetics an Exclusive License Agreement for the Use of Targeted Nucleases in Large Livestock 2Cellectis bioresearch Grants Recombinetics an Exclusive License Agreement for the Use of Targeted Nucleases in Large Livestock 3FREEDOM-C(2) Trial of Oral Treprostinil in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Does Not Meet Primary Endpoint 2FREEDOM-C(2) Trial of Oral Treprostinil in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Does Not Meet Primary Endpoint 3FREEDOM-C(2) Trial of Oral Treprostinil in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Does Not Meet Primary Endpoint 4Controlling magnetism with electric fields 2
... is a tetramethylrhodamine-conjugated jetSI-ENDO (excitation ... 580 nm), the powerful siRNA ... used to determine the transfection ... delivery and trafficking of siRNAs. ...
... TrackerCumulates a score of movement counts, similar ... it.can track up to 6 subjects at once, ... triggered. Test a whole experimental group at ... the activity. Upgradeable for a variety of ...
... OutputCumulates a score of movement counts, similar to ... track up to 6 subjects at once, in ... Can outpt a sync pulse to coordinate ... use animal location and timing information to control ...
... features of Tracker, plus software to note when ... of the arena, and trigger a penaltyThe Spatial ... built around a video camera, frame grabber, and ... fields at once and up to 6 moving ...
Biology Products: