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Can a Common and Abundant Plant-Visiting Ant Species Serve as a Model for Nine Sympatric Ant-Mimicking Arthropod Species?


Affiliations
1 Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
 

Many arthropods mimic ants to avoid predation risk from visual predators. Our study of ant-mimicking arthropod diversity revealed 10 sympatric myrmecomorphs including spiders, mantids, bugs and grasshoppers. All, except one, were found predominantly on extrafloral nectary-bearing and homopteran harbouring plants. Of the five plant-visiting ant species, Camponotus compressus, Camponotus paria, Camponotus sericeus, Crematogaster subnuda and Tapinoma melanocephalum, only C. compressus showed significantly high occurrence and abundance on these plants. Except for a small spider morph, the remaining nine myrmecomorphic species resembled C. compressus and apparently use this common and abundant ant species as their model.

Keywords

Batesian Mimicry, Camponotus compressus, Herbivorous Myrmecomorphs, Myrmarachne spp.
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  • Can a Common and Abundant Plant-Visiting Ant Species Serve as a Model for Nine Sympatric Ant-Mimicking Arthropod Species?

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Authors

Sudha Kumari
Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India
Neelkamal Rastogi
Department of Zoology, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, India

Abstract


Many arthropods mimic ants to avoid predation risk from visual predators. Our study of ant-mimicking arthropod diversity revealed 10 sympatric myrmecomorphs including spiders, mantids, bugs and grasshoppers. All, except one, were found predominantly on extrafloral nectary-bearing and homopteran harbouring plants. Of the five plant-visiting ant species, Camponotus compressus, Camponotus paria, Camponotus sericeus, Crematogaster subnuda and Tapinoma melanocephalum, only C. compressus showed significantly high occurrence and abundance on these plants. Except for a small spider morph, the remaining nine myrmecomorphic species resembled C. compressus and apparently use this common and abundant ant species as their model.

Keywords


Batesian Mimicry, Camponotus compressus, Herbivorous Myrmecomorphs, Myrmarachne spp.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv114%2Fi10%2F2189-2192