4.8 Article

Host propagation permits extreme local adaptation in a social parasite of ants

Journal

ECOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 9, Issue 9, Pages 1032-1040

Publisher

WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2006.00957.x

Keywords

host-parasite interaction; insect conservation; local adaptation; manipulation of ant reproduction; Microdon mutabilis; reproductive skew; social parasites

Categories

Funding

  1. Natural Environment Research Council [CEH010021] Funding Source: researchfish

Ask authors/readers for more resources

The Red Data Book hoverfly species Microdon mutabilis is an extreme specialist that parasitises ant societies. The flies are locally adapted to a single host, Formica lemani, more intimately than was thought possible in host-parasite systems. Microdon egg survival plummeted in F. lemani colonies > 3 km away from the natal nest, from c. 96% to 0% to < 50%, depending on the hoverfly population. This is reflected in the life-time dispersal of females, measured at < 2 m, resulting in oviposition back into the same ant nests for generation after generation. To counter destabilizing effects on the host, Microdon manipulates the social dynamics of F. lemani by feeding selectively on ant eggs and small larvae, which causes surviving larvae to switch development into queens. Infested colonies rear double the number of new queens, thus propagating the vulnerable local genotype and compensating for damage to the host colonies. The consequences of such extreme host specificity for insect conservation are discussed.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.8
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available