TY  - JOUR
AU  - Dejean, A.
AU  - Orivel, J.
AU  - Azémar, F.
AU  - Herault, B.
AU  - Corbara, B.
PY  - 2016//
TI  - A cuckoo-like parasitic moth leads African weaver ant colonies to their ruin
T2  - Sci. Rep.
JO  - Scientific Reports
SP  - 23778
VL  - 6
N2  - In myrmecophilous Lepidoptera, mostly lycaenids and riodinids, caterpillars trick ants into transporting them to the ant nest where they feed on the brood or, in the more derived 'cuckoo strategy', trigger regurgitations (trophallaxis) from the ants and obtain trophic eggs. We show for the first time that the caterpillars of a moth (Eublemma albifascia; Noctuidae; Acontiinae) also use this strategy to obtain regurgitations and trophic eggs from ants (Oecophylla longinoda). Females short-circuit the adoption process by laying eggs directly on the ant nests, and workers carry just-hatched caterpillars inside. Parasitized colonies sheltered 44 to 359 caterpillars, each receiving more trophallaxis and trophic eggs than control queens. The thus-starved queens lose weight, stop laying eggs (which transport the pheromones that induce infertility in the workers) and die. Consequently, the workers lay male-destined eggs before and after the queen's death, allowing the colony to invest its remaining resources in male production before it vanishes.
UR  - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84962384823&partnerID=40&md5=9fbdc8870a8a1e7568bbaf33963d0d78
L1  - http://php.ecofog.gf/refbase/files/dejean/2016/674_Dejean_etal2016.pdf
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep23778
N1  - Export Date: 22 April 2016
ID  - Dejean_etal2016
ER  -