Diverse chemical strategies of myrmecophilous insects to exploit ant-plants

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23770022
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Osaka Kyoiku University
• Principal Investigator: INUI Yoko 大阪教育大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (10343261)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): ITIOKA Takao 京都大学, 人間環境学研究科, 教授 (40252283)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: chemical mimicry / myrmecophytes / myrmecophile / tropical rain forest / species diversity

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Certain plants have a mutualistic association with ants and are generally well-protected from herbivore attacks by the guardian ant. However, larvae of Oakblue butterflies on Macaranga ant-plants and a cockroach on epiphytic fern ant-plants survive and develop without being attacked by the ants living on the plant (known as plant-ant species). Chemical analyses of cuticular hydrocarbons (chemicals that play an important role in ant communication) and behavioral experiments revealed that although the responses of the plant-ants to the myrmecophiles varied considerably depending on the insect species, attacks by plant-ant species on the normal plant host were infrequent. Chemically speaking, however, A. dajagaka matched well the host plant-ants, A. amphimuta did not match, and unexpectedly, A. zylda lacked hydrocarbons.The cockroach, even more surprising, imposed its own chemical profile to the ants. Chemical strategy of myrmecophiles may be far more diverse than previously. thought.

Free Research Field

chemical ecology