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Crematogaster

Crematogaster is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are also known as cocktail ants because of their habit of raising their abdomens when alarmed. Most species are arboreal (tree-dwelling). These ants are also known as acrobat ants.

Cocktail ants acquire food largely through predation on other insects, such as wasps. They use venom to stun their prey and a complex trail-laying process to lead comrades to food sources. Like most ants, Crematogaster species reproduce by partaking in nuptial flights, where the queen acquires the sperm used to fertilize every egg throughout her life.

Predatory behavior

Cocktail ants hunt both large and small prey. When time to hunt, foragers typically recruit nearby ants to assist them. The ants can mark and detect their prey by specific contact. When they make contact, they attack, sometimes releasing a small amount of venom with a sting. They also release an alarm pheromone to alert still more workers that prey has been seized. If other workers are present, the ants "spread-eagle" the prey. When the prey is spread-eagled, all limbs are outstretched and it is carried along the backsides of the ants. The ants carry arolia, pad-like projections that are used to carry the prey back to the nest. These arolia are critical because cocktail ants are arboreal and often need to travel up trees to return to their nesting location. If the prey is small and only one ant is present, it can carry the prey individually. If other workers are present, the ant recruits carrying assistance, even if the prey is small. Cocktail ants typically eat grasshoppers, termites, wasps, and other small insects. South American Crematogaster ants are also known to feed on egg sacs and spiderlings from the colonies of the social spider Anelosimus eximius.

Predation of wasps

Cocktail ants are known to eat different types of wasps. Many of these wasps have mutualistic relationships with trees involving pollination. Additionally, the wasps typically have cycles that they follow, which can make locating and capturing them by the ants more difficult. As a result, cocktail ants have evolved unique characteristics to detect the presence of prey. They have become sensitive to chemical signals released by wasps, and use these signals as cues in locating their prey.

Habitat

Cocktail ants can be found either outdoors or indoors with great frequency in each case. Outdoors, they are usually arboreal, but they often live in many common areas in the wild. These areas are typically moist and are often dark. They can often be found in trees, collections of wood (like firewood), and under rocks. Indoors, nests have been found inside homes around electrical wires. These locations are often very near large food supplies and may be around other ant nests.

Reproduction

As with many social ant species, in cocktail ants, a queen mates with a single male during a nuptial flight. During this flight, the winged queen and winged male mate, and the male dies shortly afterwards. The female eventually lands and removes her own wings, which she no longer needs.

In these ant species, a variation also exists to this mating strategy. Large female workers exist that are smaller than winged queens, yet larger than small workers. They also have many anatomical features that are intermediate to small workers and the queen, including ovary size and composition, and patches. These females can produce unfertilized eggs that can eventually develop into males in colonies that do not have a queen. If these eggs are produced in a colony with a queen, the queen can devour them. Larvae can also devour the eggs. Large workers normally produce more eggs in ant colonies that are queenless. Large workers can be tended to by small workers in a similar manner to ant queens.

Defensive behavior

Crematogaster ants "are able to raise their abdomens forward and over their thoraces and heads, which allow them to point their abdominal tips in nearly all directions", "as if they were performing a balancing act", thus they are colloquially known as cocktail ants or acrobat ants.

When in conflict, cocktail ants can release a venom by flexing their abdominal regions. The effectiveness of the venom varies greatly with the opposer to the ant. For example, some other ant species are not very resistant and can be killed with only a few drops, while other ant species and insects have a high degree of resistance to even large amounts of venom. However, the venom can often repel offending ants if it comes into contact with their antennae. Cocktail ants are typically not repelled by venom from other cocktail ants. The venom is created in a metapleural gland and usually consists of complex and simple phenols and carboxylic acids, some of which have known antibiotic properties. The ants apply froths to conflicting organisms. The froths are applied in a "paintbrush" style manner to surround the offender. "Frothing" has evolved independently in ants and grasshoppers.

Division of labor

As with most eusocial insects, cocktail ants tend to form castes based on labor duties. This division is normally behavioral, but also has a physical basis, including size or age. Soldiers are typically larger with a more developed metapleural gland specialized for colony defence or food acquisition. A worker ant is generally smaller than soldiers and queens, and its main task is to assist the queen in rearing the young. Workers vary in size more than soldiers. This considerable variation in size may have played a considerable role in the evolution of "large workers" in this genus.

Mutualism

Cocktail ants participate in a form of mutualism called myrmecophytism, in which plants provide shelter and secreted food, while the ants provide the plants with protection from predators. Many cocktail ants use plants such as Macaranga as their main source of food.

The ants become alarmed when the plant is disturbed. They quickly emerge from their plant shelter and become aggressive. This can be the case even when neighboring plants are under attack. They can also recruit other ants to help in their defense. 3-Octanone and 3-Octanol have been identified as the alarm pheromones of East African Crematogaster negriceps and Crematogaster mimosa. The major components of the mandibular secretion of the Costa Rican Crematogaster rochai are also 3-octanone and 3-octanol.

Trail-laying

Cocktail ants lay scent trails for many different reasons - communication, recruitment of workers, etc. The scents originate in the tibial gland and are secreted from the gaster of the ants. The gaster never actually touches the surface of what the ant is leaving the scent on. When laying a scent trail, the ants will typically lift their abdomen sharply upward then bend it forward.

One practical use for trail laying is to mark the path toward food. The ants often find a food source requiring them to make multiple trips to the nest or shelter. To keep track of space, a scent is useful. Another significant use of a scent is to recruit other workers. This is actually helpful in a number of scenarios. It can increase efficiency when a food source is located and needs to be brought back to the nest. It can also be helpful in recruiting assistance during an attack on one of the cocktail ants' plant shelters.

Species

More than 520 species are recognised in the genus Crematogaster:

See also

Euryplatea nanaknihali

References

External links