Specialized Predation on Oribatid Mites by Two Species of the Ant Genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Specialized predation on oribatid mites was confirmed in two Japanese species of the myrmicine genus Myrmecina, the first instance in the Formicidae. Using the mouthparts and legs, a worker skillfully tears a hole in the oribatid body and gives the partly dismembered prey to a larva. During food pre...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
1994-01-01
|
| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1994/96412 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Specialized predation on oribatid mites was confirmed in two
Japanese species of the myrmicine genus Myrmecina, the first
instance in the Formicidae. Using the mouthparts and legs, a
worker skillfully tears a hole in the oribatid body and gives the
partly dismembered prey to a larva. During food preparation workers
bend the gaster forward deeply and raise their anterior body
thus making the working posture stable; both seem necessary for
handling such round slippery prey as oribatid mites. The larva of
Myrmecina has a peculiarly elongate head which it inserts into an
oribatid body and consumes the contents. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |