Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants

Abstract The sawfly larvae of most Argidae and Pergidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) species contain toxic peptides, and these along with other traits contribute to their defense. However, the effectiveness of their defense strategy, especially against ants, remains poorly quantified. Here, five Arge spe...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal:	Jean-Luc Boevé
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/f7e3bde1ece64cac9572b82d32e008f1
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:f7e3bde1ece64cac9572b82d32e008f1
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:f7e3bde1ece64cac9572b82d32e008f12021-12-02T16:31:50ZBehavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants10.1038/s41598-021-93074-22045-2322https://doaj.org/article/f7e3bde1ece64cac9572b82d32e008f12021-06-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93074-2https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract The sawfly larvae of most Argidae and Pergidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) species contain toxic peptides, and these along with other traits contribute to their defense. However, the effectiveness of their defense strategy, especially against ants, remains poorly quantified. Here, five Arge species, A. berberidis, A. nigripes, A. ochropus, A. pagana, A. pullata, plus three Pergidae species, Lophyrotoma analis, Lophyrotoma zonalis, Philomastix macleaii, were tested in laboratory bioassays on ant workers mainly of Myrmica rubra. The experiments focused on short-term predator–prey interactions, sawfly survival rate after long-term interactions, and feeding deterrence of the sawfly hemolymph. The larvae of Arge species were generally surrounded by few ants, which rarely bit them, whereas larvae of Pergidae, especially P. macleaii, had more ants around with more biting. A detailed behavioral analysis of Arge-ant interactions revealed that larval body size and abdomen raising behavior were two determinants of ant responses. Another determinant may be the emission of a volatile secretion by non-eversible ventro-abdominal glands. The crude hemolymph of all tested species, the five Arge species and L. zonalis, was a strong feeding deterrent and remained active at a ten-fold dilution. Furthermore, the study revealed that the taxon-specific behavior of ants, sting or spray, impacted the survival of A. pagana but not the large body-sized A. pullata. The overall results suggest that the ability of Arge and Pergidae larvae to defend against ants is influenced by the body size and behavior of the larvae, as well as by chemicals.Jean-Luc BoevéNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-10 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Jean-Luc Boevé Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
description	Abstract The sawfly larvae of most Argidae and Pergidae (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) species contain toxic peptides, and these along with other traits contribute to their defense. However, the effectiveness of their defense strategy, especially against ants, remains poorly quantified. Here, five Arge species, A. berberidis, A. nigripes, A. ochropus, A. pagana, A. pullata, plus three Pergidae species, Lophyrotoma analis, Lophyrotoma zonalis, Philomastix macleaii, were tested in laboratory bioassays on ant workers mainly of Myrmica rubra. The experiments focused on short-term predator–prey interactions, sawfly survival rate after long-term interactions, and feeding deterrence of the sawfly hemolymph. The larvae of Arge species were generally surrounded by few ants, which rarely bit them, whereas larvae of Pergidae, especially P. macleaii, had more ants around with more biting. A detailed behavioral analysis of Arge-ant interactions revealed that larval body size and abdomen raising behavior were two determinants of ant responses. Another determinant may be the emission of a volatile secretion by non-eversible ventro-abdominal glands. The crude hemolymph of all tested species, the five Arge species and L. zonalis, was a strong feeding deterrent and remained active at a ten-fold dilution. Furthermore, the study revealed that the taxon-specific behavior of ants, sting or spray, impacted the survival of A. pagana but not the large body-sized A. pullata. The overall results suggest that the ability of Arge and Pergidae larvae to defend against ants is influenced by the body size and behavior of the larvae, as well as by chemicals.
format	article
author	Jean-Luc Boevé
author_facet	Jean-Luc Boevé
author_sort	Jean-Luc Boevé
title	Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
title_short	Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
title_full	Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
title_fullStr	Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
title_full_unstemmed	Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
title_sort	behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/f7e3bde1ece64cac9572b82d32e008f1
work_keys_str_mv	AT jeanlucboeve behaviorandbodysizemodulatethedefenseoftoxincontainingsawflylarvaeagainstants
_version_	1718383848055635968

Behavior and body size modulate the defense of toxin-containing sawfly larvae against ants

Ejemplares similares