Co-occurrence in ant primary parasitoids: a Camponotus rectangularis colony as host of two eucharitid wasp genera - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue PeerJ Année : 2021

Co-occurrence in ant primary parasitoids: a Camponotus rectangularis colony as host of two eucharitid wasp genera

Résumé

Different assemblages of parasitoids may attack a given host species and non-random distribution patterns in parasitoid species assemblages have been reported on various occasions, resulting in co-occurrence at the population, colony, or even individual host levels. This is the case for different closely related species of eucharitid wasps (a family of specialized ant parasitoids) sharing similar niches and co-occurring on the same host at different levels. Here we reviewed all known associations between eucharitid wasps and the ant host genus Camponotus Mayr, 1861 and reported new ant-parasitoid associations. In addition, we report a new case of co-occurrence in eucharitid wasps, at the host colony level, involving a new undescribed species of Pseudochalcura Ashmead, 1904 and an unidentified species of Obeza Heraty, 1985, which attack the common but very poorly known neotropical arboreal ant Camponotus rectangularis Emery, 1890. Most attacks were solitary, but various cocoons were parasitized by two (16%) or three (8%) parasitoids. Globally, parasitism prevalence was very low (3.7%) but showed an important variability among samples. Low parasitism prevalence along with host exposure to parasitoid attack on host plants and overlapping reproductive periods of both parasitoid species may have allowed the evolution of co-occurrence. We also provided some additional data regarding the host ant nesting habits, the colony composition and new symbiotic associations with membracids and pseudococcids. The seemingly polydomous nesting habits of C. rectangularis could play a part in the reduction of parasitism pressure at the population level and, combined with occasionally important local parasitism rates, could also contribute to some parts of the colonies escaping from parasites, polydomy possibly representing an effective parasitism avoidance trait.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
PérezLachaud&Lachaud-PeerJ2021.pdf (14.97 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte

Dates et versions

hal-03357528 , version 1 (28-09-2021)

Identifiants

Citer

Jean-Paul Lachaud, Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud. Co-occurrence in ant primary parasitoids: a Camponotus rectangularis colony as host of two eucharitid wasp genera. PeerJ, 2021, 9, pp.e11949. ⟨10.7717/peerj.11949⟩. ⟨hal-03357528⟩
22 Consultations
6 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More