week 7 Flashcards
how many individual ants on earth
20 quadrillion
how many megatons of biomass of dry carbon of ants
12
what is mutualism
An ecological interaction between species that benefits both interacting species
3 examples of mutualism
Pollination: bees and flowers
Improved nutrition of blood: blood feeding insects and microbes
Farming: sheep and shepherd
how is livestock farming a mutualism in humans
Humans use livestock to process low quality food into high quality food
Livestock species benefits
More of them exist because of farming
what insect group do ants farm
aphids
how do ants control aphids
herding behaviour
Wing removal of alate aphids
Secretion of chemicals that slow aphid walking
how do ants defend their livestock herds
Attacking with mandibles
Spraying formic acid
what do ants eat from their aphid farms and how
Aphids excrete honeydew which is sugar solution
Ants milk aphids by swallowing excreted droplets
Ants occasionally eat some aphids
how do ants transport resources harvested from aphid farms (2)
Ants travel from aphid herds to nests aided by trail pheromones
Ant to ant food transfer (trophallaxis)
how do ants store resources from aphid farms
All ants can act as storage vessels
Honeypot ants have a caste called repletes
-Specialized to store food in abdomen
-Filled and emptied by trophallaxis
what are 2 types of ant farmers
livestock farmers
arable farmers
what tribe of ants culture and eat fungus, where are they located?
the attini tribe
central and south america
what are some traits of the attini tribe of ants
Has obligate dependance on symbiotic fungi for food
Atta nests up to 40 tons of soil
Atta and acromyrmex have polymorphic species
-Castes of specialized workers
how much vegetation do ants of the attini tribe consume. How does this compare to cattle? what percent of the cellulose is converted to carbohydrates?
80% leaf damage and 17% biomass consumption in rainforests
In grasslands atta species
Consumes same amount of vegetation per hectare as cattle
45% of cellulose converted to carbohydrates
how does a leaf cutting ant nest operate (what are the steps)
Ants harvest leaf pieces
Trail of transporter workers
Transporter workers give pieces to processing workers
Leaf pieces converted to mulch substrate for fungal growth
Fungus produces gongylidia
Food for ants
Queen sits on fungus harden laying eggs
Larvae eat the gongylidia and cared for by nurse workers
Waste leaf material, dead ants and dead fungus transported to dump chambers
what are the 2 different roles in leaf cutter ants when they are harvesting leaves (what predator do they have)
Minor workers protect medium sized workers (atta cephalotes) from parasitoid phorid decapitating flies
Visual cues
why are leaf cutter ants pests of human agriculture
Ants increase in abundance after forest is cut
When bush is cleared for farms
Farms in tropical regions often abandoned due to ants
why are ants beneficial to forests
Introduce large amounts of organic matter into tropical forest soils
Affect nutrient supply and cycling
Ant refuse areas contain 48 times the nutrients found in leaf litter
Plants increase production of fine roots
why do leaf cutter ants and their fungus have a mutualism
Fungus growth in ideal conditions of temp, humidity and darkness
Ants removed wax to allow fungus growth
Fungus digest cellulose and provide easy to manipulate gongylidia structures
how do leaf cutter ants practice crop management
Fertility management
Waste management
Cultivar selection and monocultures
how do leaf cutter ants practice Transportation of inputs and harvest - how much leaf fragments do they harvest
Collection of 6000 kg of leaf fragments/year
Trophallaxis
what do queens do with fungus when establishing a new nest
Before a mating flight, queen collects small amount of fungus in mouth
She carries the fungus until establishes nest, then uses to start fungus garden
Each ant grows narrow range of fungal cultivars
how much sperm does a leafcutter queen bring with, how long does this last?
After mating, queen stores 206-320 million sperm (last ~10 years of queen life)
where do leafcutter ants like establishing nests and why
Prefer treefall gaps
More sunlight and nutrient rich leaves
how many leafcutter queens successfully establish nests? why and what do they do to account for this?
Low colony survivorship
Of 13300, only 12 survived 3 months (atta capiguara)
2.5-10%
Very difficult
Why they produce massive number of queens
what are the two kinds of initial eggs leafcutter queens lay when establishing a new nest
small: first brood of larvae
Large: food for larvae
how do leafcutter ants practice pest management
Fungus garden can be invaded by other fungi and bacteria
Gardeners weed the garden and secrete compounds that promote fungal growth and suppress pests
what is one of the main parasitic fungi that attacks fungal gardens of leafcutter ants? why is it so deadly and how do leafcutter ants respond?
escovopsis
Parasite can be transmitted from one garden to another
Rapidly destroys gardens, kills colony
Ants respond by increasing garden weeding rate
how do leafcutter ants use fungicide to fight off escovopsis
Fungicide producing bacteria
Ants carry a bacterium that makes chemicals that inhibit escovopsis
Bacteria also secrete compounds to promote growth of cultivated fungi
why are fungicide producing bacteria a third mutualist of leafcutter ants
Bacteria also benefit
Get a place to live (structures called crypts inside ants exoskeleton)
Get source of food (glandular secretions) from ants
how are bacterial fungicides transported to new leafcutter nests
Queens On mating flights carry bacterial fungicide producers for new colony
what is myrmecochory
seed dispersal by ants
what are elaiosomes and why do the seeds produce this
Food bodies on seeds with chemical attractants for ants
Ants carry seeds to nests
Seeds are hard and discarded
Plants get there seeds spread into nutrient rich ground
how many plant species is Myrmecochory present in
In many species
1500 plant species in australia
1300 plant species in africa
300 rest of world
when were the first ancestral ant farmers emerge
50 mil yrs ago
what 4 animals practice agriculture today
ants, Humans, termites and bark beetles
when did humans learn agriculture
10000 yrs ago
what order and family are lady beetles
Order: coleoptera
Family: coccinellidae
what does coccineus mean in greek
berr red
how many species of lady beetles worldwide? how many in na?
6000 species worldwide
475 species in NA
what are the defining features of a lady beetle
Clubbed Antenna
Pronotum covering thorax
Elytron
4 tarsal segments
what is special about ladybeetle hemolymph
Reflex bleeding
If under attack
Have to rupture structures inside them to bleed
stinky
why do lady beetles have bright color
aposematic coloration (due to hemolymph)
what alkaloids do ladybeetles have in their hemolymph that is unique
Coccideline
hippodamine
what are 2 types of mimicry seen by lady beetles and how are they used
Batesian mimicry
Other insects use batesian mimicry to mimic lady beetles
Mullerian mimicry
Lady beetle species very similar looking
do all individuals in a lady beetle species have same coloration? What is this called?
Polymorphism
Individuals in same species can differ in color patterns
what are 2 myths about lady beetles
Small lady beetles are young lady beetles
Old lady beetles have more spots than young
what are the 4 stages of a lady beetles life cycle
egg
larval
pupa
adult
where do lady beetles lay eggs and why
Deposit eggs on leaves
Have to deposit eggs where there’s food
Where large aphid colonies
how many larval stages do lady beetles have
4
what do lady beetle larvae feed on
Feed on other eggs and aphids
Feed on trophic eggs
Unfertilized eggs mom lays for larvae
Cannibalistic
Eat other ladybug eggs
what do adult lady beetles eat
Other insects, mostly Aphids
Some Eat pollen
Eat own skin after molting
Mexican bean beetle and Squash beetle
Herbivorous pests
how do lady beetles move around
Hindwings under hardened elytra
how do lady beetles overwinter in general
Some do it in large groups
what is special about asian lady beetle overwintering
Overwinter in mountains
In manitoba only mountains are buildings
Try to overwinter in buildings
what are some lady beetle enemies (6)
Spiders
Other insects
Other lady beetle larvae
Birds
Ants defending aphids
Parasitoid wasp
what was the result of an experiment testing how ants affect predators eating aphids?
Ants didn’t affect how much predators were able to eat aphids
explain the “zombie bodyguards” of lady beetle
Parasitoid wasp
Dinocampus coccinellae
Hymenoptera: braconidae
Keeps ladybeetle alive while living in and emerging from ladybeetle
Living lady beetles protect parasitoids
25% of lady beetles recovered after wasp emerged
what pests have lady beetles been used to control
Used to control herbivorous insects
Aphids, coccids
why are lady beetles no longer used as much for controlling pests
Very few have been successful
Not specialist enough for the pest they are trying to control
how do lady beetles have synergistic interactions with other predators (specifically ground beetle)
Interact with other predators
They consume more when combined with ground beetle
Gound predator benefits from lady beetle (aphids go to ground to escape lady beetle and are eaten by ground beetle)
what is the history of the seven spotted lady beetle in na (coccinella septempuncta)
Native of europe
Introduced in USA to control aphids in 1956, established 1973
Habitat generalist
what is the history of Multicolored asian lady beetle (harmonia axyridis)
in na
Native of asia
Introduced in USA in 1918, found again in Louisiana in 1988
Increase numbers following outbreaks of soybean aphid
Aggressive intra-guild predator
Overwinters inside buildings
what is interesting about the life cycle of the Convergent lady beetle (hippodamia convergens)
Migrate to valley floor in spring to feed and reproduce
Feed on aphids
Migrate to mountains in fall to overwinter
Feed on pollen and nectar
what are the odds of death by anaphylaxis from wasp sting
1 in a million
what are 2 reasons wasps sting
Defense
Individual
Nest
Attack
Predation
Nest usurpation
what is special about a honeybee stinger
Honeybees have barbed stinger
Stays in skin
Leaves venom sack in skin
how did stingers evolve in wasps/bees? How does this relate to females?
Modified ovipositor
Why only female wasps/bees can sting
what are some defining characteristics of bees
Long antenna
Narrow waist (between first and second thorax segment)
Wings folded at rest
Four wings
Hairy bodies
Hairy hind legs
Compound eyes small on head
Pollen on legs
many different Colors
what is different about wasps from bees
Bodies less hairy
Don’t carry pollen
More likely to be yellow/black/white
-Still different colors
what are some defining characteristics of flies? why is this important when identifying wasps/bees?
Two wings
Wings out at rest
Thick waist
Big compound eyes
Small antennae
Hind wings reduced into haltares
Some are wasp and bee mimics
why do solitary wasps not sting as much
Not as aggressively defending nests
-Not many resources
Ones that have ovipositors not an issue at all
how many species is in the Vespidae family of wasps? how many are social?
~4000 species
1000 social
what are some common vespidae classifactions? What are the 2 common types we characterize?
Paper wasps, hornets and yellow jackets
2 common groups we characterize
Bald faced hornet
yellow jacket wasp
what is the distribution of vespidae wasps
Nearly all temperate regions
Most of what we have not native
what are some characteristics of paper wasps
Tend to be more slender
Stinging
Open nests
-Can see cells and wasps climbing on outside
are social wasps always social?
Social but solitary
Annual cycle
Solitary queen overwinters
New nest every year
what is contained in social wasp cells? do they reuse these cells? what about nests?
Cells contain brood
Do not store food in cells
Reuse cells
Do not reuse nest
what is larval-worker trophallaxis in social wasps
Larvae scrape cell walls to make noise
Begging
Workers milk
Larvae act as a food reserve
Specialized Salivary glands on larvae analogous to crop
how far do foraging wasps forage and what do they collect
Distance
160m 50%
460m 90%
1000m 100%
Don’t tend to forage to far
Collect
Sugar
Water
Protein
Dead carcasses or other insects
Wood pulp for nest
What are some social wasp stimuli and how do they communicate with other wasps?
Odor
Color
Visual other wasps
-Dead wasp
-Wasp activity
Conspecific wasps
Pheromones
what are 2 different kinds of social wasp nests
Aerial nest
Construct own cavity
Underground nest
Excavation
Use Existing cavities
Old barns, houses, cars
how do social wasps defend their hive? how does this change with the size of their hive?
Defend aggressively, especially as colony size increases
what are the venom componenets in wasps and bees for
Different compounds to induce pain
how is insect sting pain measured
Schmidt pain index
Scale from 1-4
what are some beneficial aspects of social wasps
Predators
Pollinators (not as good as bees)
what are some harmful aspects of social wasps
Damage plants
Sap
Bark
Damage fences, decks, property
Eat wood to create pulp for nests
Make structures in dumb areas
Harmful structural damage
Nuisance pest
Harmful to other beneficial insects
Honey bees
what are wasps attracted to (What can this knowledge be used for)
Erratic Movement
Certain Odour
Darker Colour
avoiding stings
is there anything you can do to neutralize a wasp sting? (ie. onion, penny, etc.)
no nothing past normal injury care (eg. polysporn)
does the paper bag method work as a wasp deterent
Doesn’t work
Wasps don’t care
does fabric softener repel wasps
no
is trapping wasps an effective method to get rid of them
Will kill wasps but not enough to affect population
Some colonies have thousands of individuals
what works best to destroy nests
Best not to take diy solutions
(boiling water, gasoline, etc.)
