Wily wasps ferment ant civil war

Secretions from a parasitoid wasp induce ants to attack their kin, leaving the wasp a free run at the larvae in the nest.

Written byDavid Bruce
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Insects that parasitize social insects are extreme specialists and have developed highly specific mimicry or stealth mechanisms to exploit this niche. In 30 May Nature, Jeremy Thomas and colleagues from Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Dorchester, UK, show how secretions from the parasitoid wasp Ichneumon eumerus induces in colony fighting in Myrmica schencki ants, enabling it to sneak in and parasitize caterpillars of the social parasite Maculinea rebeli (Nature 2002, 417:505)

Thomas et al. tested the effect of M. rebeli pupal cases from which the wasps had already emerged on ant colonies. Both the empty cases and dummies to which a solvent wash from the cases had been applied induced fierce fighting in the M. schencki ants, whereas cases that had been washed in the solvent produced no reaction.

Analysis of the solvent by gas chromatography with mass spectrophotometry identified thee alcohols and three aldehydes; four of which are new ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Related Topics

Meet the Author

Share
Image of small blue creatures called Nergals. Some have hearts above their heads, which signify friendship. There is one Nergal who is sneezing and losing health, which is denoted by minus one signs floating around it.
June 2025, Issue 1

Nergal Networks: Where Friendship Meets Infection

A citizen science game explores how social choices and networks can influence how an illness moves through a population.

View this Issue
An illustration of green lentiviral particles.

Maximizing Lentivirus Recovery

cytiva logo
Unraveling Complex Biology with Advanced Multiomics Technology

Unraveling Complex Biology with Five-Dimensional Multiomics

Element Bioscience Logo
Resurrecting Plant Defense Mechanisms to Avoid Crop Pathogens

Resurrecting Plant Defense Mechanisms to Avoid Crop Pathogens

Twist Bio 
The Scientist Placeholder Image

Seeing and Sorting with Confidence

BD

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Waters Enhances Alliance iS HPLC System Software, Setting a New Standard for End-to-End Traceability and Data Integrity 

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Agilent Unveils the Next Generation in LC-Mass Detection: The InfinityLab Pro iQ Series

agilent-logo

Agilent Announces the Enhanced 8850 Gas Chromatograph

parse-biosciences-logo

Pioneering Cancer Plasticity Atlas will help Predict Response to Cancer Therapies